


Awkward Murder

by HKplus



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: 5+1 inspired, Fake AH Crew, GTA AU, Gen, Humour, Minor Character Death, Torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-24
Updated: 2017-08-23
Packaged: 2018-05-02 20:56:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 41,233
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5263361
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HKplus/pseuds/HKplus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Having witnessed the methods of the masked mercenary going by the name Vagabond, the last thing the Fake AH Crew expected after hiring him was to end up face to face with the nerdiest and clumsiest man alive.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. An enemy of my enemy is my friend

“You’re clear, go.”

“Roger… He won’t know what hit him.”

Geoff and Jeremy covered Michael as he pushed open the now unlocked door to the warehouse, the inside of which was stacked with goods he was itching to blow up the moment he saw the boxes. Good thing he wouldn't have to wait for long.

Once Michael was in, Geoff ushered Jeremy to take position near the main doors and then waved his hand outside to let the others know of the countdown having started.

In exactly five minutes, Michael would be setting the charges and the crew would flee.

The Fake AH worked in silence, from now on non-verbal communication was the key to their success. The pre-infiltration data had showed that Roger and the Rangers, being a small yet annoyingly arrogant crew, were foolish enough to not have an always alert security on their warehouses. It had been easy enough for Gavin to take out the security feed and for Jeremy to deal with the few guards outside without a hitch to be heard.

But they had to be careful as their information was still lacking. And if anything, they were determined to not be outplayed by the Rangers of all crews.

Michael dropped his explosives in the middle of the main hall and, after prepping the fuse, he hurried to secure the upstairs. He headed towards the office to gather the files they were after, and Geoff followed after him once he was done double checking the ground-level.

As Geoff made it upstairs and reached the office, he was faced with Michael standing stiffly by the doorframe with his gun pointed inside the room.

“Michael?” Geoff whispered and took a step forward, also raising his pistol.

Michael glared inside, not daring to move his gaze as Geoff reached the door and took a look inside. He was not expecting what he saw, but was quick to hide his shock and aim his weapon.

No-one said a word as the Vagabond worked, glancing at the men by the door and casually nodding in acknowledgment almost as if greeting some old friends who had walked in on him during a business call or something equally mundane.

Geoff’s eyes fell to the sight behind the Vagabond though, as the pure terror now permanently stuck on Roger’s beaten and disfigured face was almost enough to make him throw up, even without taking in the state of Roger’s insides quite literally pouring down on his lap.

The Vagabond looked down on the poor man and, deeming the job finished with a satisfied nod of his head, turned around to face his crowd and to give them his full attention.

Geoff and Michael glared at him, both of them just as focused on the piercing blue eyes peering at them through the skull mask the Vagabond was well known for wearing.

“Fake AH… What owes me the pleasure?”

Geoff gritted his teeth and glanced down at Roger again. The Vagabond followed his gaze and hummed. “I see. I hope this won’t cause you any unnecessary trouble. But seeing how you too are sneaking in, I take it that you weren’t exactly friends with him.”

 _'What’s going on in there?’_ Gavin’s voice rang through their earpieces, causing Michael's finger to twitch dangerously close to pulling the trigger while Geoff gave him a look. The Vagabond also noted the shift, but only continued to follow their every movement in a relaxed manner. 

“You done in here? We’re sort of on a schedule so if you would be so kind as to _fuck off_  that would be nice”, Geoff forced out through gritted teeth.

 _‘Ok, I take it that we have a… delay. Give the signal if you need backup’_ , Jack stated from the van she and Gavin were staked out in, her voice serious. Geoff could hear the clicks of them preparing their weapons and was thankful for the crew for keeping a level head, in return helping him to do the same as he watched the Vagabond shrug, his voice un-phased as he spoke:

“Of course, we all have our work to do. And that being said… If you ever wish to hire me, you know where to ask.”

The Vagabond’s voice drifted through the room and was answered by even more silence. Geoff did his best not to let his stance falter as he glared at the masked man.

The Vagabond waited for a moment longer and seemed to be expecting a response, but once he realized he wasn’t getting one he only shrugged again, turning around to retrieve one of his knives from Roger’s chest. He methodically wiped the blade on the seemingly last clean patch on the dead man’s once white shirt as the Fakes stood by the door, guns still pointed at the mercenary.

Michael let out a quiet snarl as he and Geoff were left to watch the unnerving scene before them, listening to the Vagabond hum a cheerful tune under his breath as he worked. Michael felt his anger boil at the mercenary for having turned his back on his boss without a second of hesitation, the act always either a mistake or a show of trust - normally, with anyone else, Michael would be the first to make their enemies pay for any disrespect shown towards any member of the crew.

But with the Vagabond, with the power of the mercenary's reputation, showing his back only went to prove how much faith he had in his own set of skills.

Michael hated to think that the Vagabond's nonchalant attitude towards them would be enough to scare him, but there was no denying it. He cursed under his breath and finally glanced at Geoff with a lift of his eyebrow, asking for their next course of action.

Geoff only shrugged in return.

They did not lower their guard as the Vagabond finally turned around again, wiping his glowed hands together as he took a step towards them.

Both Michael and Geoff kept aiming at the Vagabond’s head and the man lifted his arms up in mock surrender, his own weapons long since having been pocketed.

“What now? I’m already leaving, there's no need to shoot! The only exit just happens to be the door you’re so efficiently blocking… So, either you make way or watch someone jump out the window.”

No-one moved a muscle and after a moment the Vagabond sighed in exasperation, waving his bloodied hand to shoo them off.

“Hint: it won’t be me?”

 

* * *

 

“There aren’t many people in this world that I actually want dead… At least, not in _that way_ ”, Geoff shivered as he thought back on the way Roger had looked, having most likely slowly bled to death in his own seat.

The man had been one of the smaller rivals of the Fake AH, but only in the field of arms deals, and Geoff hadn’t planned to have him killed. The whole point of the night's mission was to go in, take the names of Roger's clients, and leave the man with a blown up inventory and the message to either fuck off or do better next time.

But now Roger was gone, the Rangers lost without their leader, and the Vagabond open for a new work assignment.

Geoff didn’t want to imagine himself sitting on that seat in the place of Roger, watching his empire crumble before his eyes.

“Bloody hell… Good thing I wasn’t there to see that”, Gavin said and coughed, looking away before he could start gagging because of the very detailed description Michael and Geoff had given them of the scene they had witnessed.

“All the stories going around about the hits the Vagabond has pulled off before… He’s certainly got a reputation for not being one to do, uh, clean kills”, Jeremy said and rubbed his hands together as a chill ran down his spine. Gavin nodded along eagerly.

“Exactly! I heard that he might be heading towards Los Santos again, but this is the first job he’s actually pulled at least that I know of... I need to ask around about it... But hopefully no-one hires him to come after us -!”

“As long as he’s here, someone will. Being as notorious as we are… If someone could afford the Vagabond’s prices just to take out the Rangers  _of all possible targets_ , there are plenty more people who have the money and will to take us down as well.”

Jack’s words made Geoff cringe and he, as did the others, took a huge gulp of his whiskey. “That creepy motherfucker… We need to get rid of him. Or stay in ‘igh alert for as long as he’s in the area. Damn is this a bad timing, though.”

“Yeah, we have a lot coming up”, Jack frowned and leaned against her palms. “Some pretty big deals… Can’t exactly back away from those, but every move we make is painting an even bigger target on our backs.”

“Usually I wouldn’t give a shit, attention is what we want, but the Vagabond has had a perfect kill record for years now. And even if he's failed any of 'is jobs, no-one’s been left to spread that side of the story…” Geoff added thoughtfully.

“You think he kills his employers if he’s unable to finish off the targets?” Gavin’s eyes widened at the implication of his own words and Michael glared down at his drink, his grip close to cracking the glass.

“Fuck, he’s got no loyalty... That’s why you don’t hire the loners to do your dirty work for you – in this business, they’re the next level of fucked up for a reason!”

“What then… We just hide away in fear and hope for the best when on the field?” Jeremy asked and the others fell quiet.

Suddenly Geoff began barking out a loud laugh and the crew turned to him in confusion. “Geoff, what -?” Jack began, but Geoff stopped her with a wave of his hand.

“I was just thinking… You know that one proverb or whatever – 'keep your friends close and your enemies closer', some shit like that”, Geoff began to explain and the others glanced at one another knowingly, aware that nothing good could come out of this.

 

* * *

 

_“Well! ‘aybe that’s the answer to this problem too, yeah?”_

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m not a huge fan of 5+1 stories, but still ended up thinking about the saving Gavin prompt and playing around with it in a really complicated manner – and who’d be more interesting to do that with than Ryan!


	2. A friend of my enemy is my enemy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Their introduction did its job and Geoff makes the deal of a lifetime.

"So… You were expecting me, huh?"

Geoff heard the Vagabond chuckle quietly behind his mask as he, too, took a closer look at the room they were currently having their meeting in.

"Indeed I was. Ever since I came back to Los Santos, I have been hoping to get your attention. I must say, I wasn't expecting it to be this easy though... Having Roger introduce us was merely a lucky coincidence, I'm afraid."

"I wouldn't say he introduced us, but… That happened", Geoff went along with a forced nod of his head. He tried to shrug away the memory of Roger’s blank eyes before him and, not knowing what to do next, offered the Vagabond a drink that the mercenary politely declined.

"When you say you were trying to get me to notice you, you mean…?"

"Well. If I have to work for someone, I'd very least like it to be someone interesting – and I believe your crew to be exactly that", the Vagabond replied smoothly. "The moment the rumor comes that I'm back in town, all of the wannabe crime-lords try to contact me to do their pointless tasks, thinking they can own me… Felt like a good time to contact you first, but… I'm not complaining over you getting to me before I could even make a move."

"Okay. That's…" Geoff couldn't help but to feel a type of acknowledgement from being, sort of, praised by the Vagabond of all people. He shrugged, playing it down as he continued:

"Good to know you deemed us the most worthy of your time, then."

 

* * *

 

"You… You can't be serious…?" Jack said as she, along with the rest of the crew, stared at Geoff in disbelief. 

"YOU invited him over? And here, of all places?!"

"Invited the Vagabond - the fucking Vagabond?! - over to the base like it's a freaking sleepover or some shit? You got to be fucking kidding me! You're supposed to be the one in charge! And here I thought we do all the stupid shit you get to scream at us about!" Michael yelled and gestured at the others and himself, the crew's collective stare widening with every passing second as they took the news in, shock quickly being taken over by anger from all sides.

Geoff, having told his side of the story, laughed a little in what they assumed, or hoped, to be embarrassment. But then his eye twitched, annoyed at having the crew direct their complaints so strongly at him.

Although, Geoff had been aware of this being the reaction he’d have to face the moment he managed to arrange the meeting with the mercenary.

"Yeah, well… We began to talk and I really liked what he had to say, and… How else could I show him that we really want him in the crew? If we want his loyalty, we can’t just let him run off on his own! And Jack, you know there’s only one crew I’d hire the Vagabond to help us with, and if he’s working for us then we can make sure he doesn’t go and do anything more than that, or make it any messier than it needs to be -", Geoff tried to explain his reasoning in an annoyed tone, but was quickly cut off.

"YOU want him in the crew because you don't want _us_ to get killed by him! But now you've given him a direct way in, who knows what he could be after", Jeremy ran a hand through his hair in frustration and Jack shook her head in blatant disappointment.

"Oh god, Geoff… I really thought you were joking the other day, how could you go and meet the Vagabond without telling us, _telling me_ , about it first!"

"Felt like a good idea at the time – and still does. Hey, don’t you start doubting my judgement! You'll like him for sure, once you get past the whole creepiness and… what not", Geoff tried to divert the conversation from 'attacking Geoff' to 'agreeing with Geoff' with a cheerful tone, which sounded awfully fake with him too being nervous of the situation although working hard to hide that from the others.

Gavin cringed. 

"Y-you just told us the story of how he pulled out Roger's insides with what you assumed to have been a bloody little fruit knife of all options out there", Gavin said and gagged. "And now you say we'll 'like' him?! What? How, how could you let him brainwash you like this, Geoff?"

"I'm not -  _He didn't fucking brainwash me_ ", Geoff tried, beginning to get more and more exasperated. "He just… He's good at getting his point across and I didn't see a reason to take down the offer - which _I_  came up with, mind you! Not him! I’m the one who invited him to meet you guys!"

"Geoff! That's basically the definition of being brainwashed, Geoff! Innit!?" Gavin turned to the others for backup.

Jack had her face in her hands, ready to give up. "For fuck's sake… When is he coming, then?"

"It's not like I gave him the address, now that would have been dumb as dicks. Yeah, no, someone needs to pick him up in a few hours or something, once I tell him you are okay with this", Geoff sniffed, as if offended by their reaction to his announcement, and crossed his arms.

The crew glanced at one another, clearly not okay with any of it but knowing full well that it didn’t matter as in the end it was Geoff’s call to make, not theirs.

"That someone not being one of us…" Jack said calmly, now also with her arms crossed as she challenged Geoff. The rest of the crew behind her was also glaring at him - the last thing they wanted was to experience the most awkward car drive ever in the Vagabond's company.

Geoff let out a stony laugh and shook his head.

"Okay then, fair enough… But if even one of you cocksuckers isn't here when I get back with  _Mr. Vagabond_ , you'll all be getting your asses kicked.

"Oh hey, I could even make that his first paycheck!" 

 

* * *

 

The Vagabond stood in the middle of the living room after greeting the crew. Everyone had stiffly returned the gesture and now watched as Geoff tried to loosen the mood as he prepared to introduce the crew to the mercenary.

What made the situation unbearable was the mask plastered on the Vagabond’s face as it made the crew unable to even pretend to relax. For all they knew the man might have had the sweetest of smiles on his face while they all covered before him in what they denied to identify as fear – but that idea alone was all the more terrifying and they were quick to let it go as Geoff once more cleared his throat.

“So… Jack’s the driver and practically the second-in-command around here. Also, she’s your go-to with any mechanical issues and purchases you might have", Geoff continued and pointed at each member as he went, the Vagabond nodding along as he took in the information.

"Then Michael, who's in charge of the weaponry and explosives, and Jeremy, who masters at stealth and basically every gun imaginable. And lastly, Gavin is our hacker, talker and stealth expert as well, believe it or not. Yeah. That’s the main crew, there’s also the B- and C-teams, and… The others you'll get to meet in due time.“

“It will be my pleasure to get to work with you”, the Vagabond cut in with what seemed like approval. This made Geoff smile a little with pride.

“Yeah… Everyone here has earned their place, you won't be disappointed.”

“I'm sure that's true…” the Vagabond replied and the others slowly registered the sound he then made as muffled laughter.

The whole room stood still around him, everyone practically on their toes and not sure what to do with him while only Geoff was making the effort to laugh back.

Gavin could swear he heard Michael whisper _"In our own fucking living room"_ but he kept his mouth shut about it, only hoping that the mercenary hadn’t heard the same or the silent curses that followed after.

“I have to admit something.”

The Vagabond glanced at the video games laying around in basically every corner of the room and then walked over to a cabinet on the opposite wall, picking up a glass object stored there. The object was fondly named "the blob" by Gavin, no-one knowing what the sculpture was supposed to represent and only aware of the price tag originally attached to it.

Now the Vagabond turned the blob around, checking the markings on its bottom and humming in appreciation at the renowned signature carved there.

Geoff scratched the back of his neck and the crew was becoming even stiffer in the following silence, some inching their fingers closer and closer to their weapon of choice.

“And that is?” Geoff prompted and the Vagabond turned his head, his eyes flashing blue from behind the mask and catching Geoff’s in a steady gaze.

“Well… I had an ulterior motive when coming here.”

Michael was the one to pull out his gun then and there, not liking where the situation was heading and still on the edge from seeing the Vagabond’s performance at Roger's the other day.

No-one else dared to move, only the Vagabond seeming to give Michael a disappointed look and a small shake of his head. “I don’t mean anything bad by that…”

“Then say it like you don’t, _you creepy asshole_ ”, Michael literally hissed back at him.

The Vagabond shrugged, sounding not in the least apologetic as he replied:

“Sorry, comes with the job description?”

“Right, whatever, just get to the point. What are you after?” Geoff asked and now glared at the man as well - he did know better than to take any unknown factors lightly and risk his crew's safety while doing so.

“The same as you, still. I wanted to see if you truly are interested in working _with_ me... Most people call me in for one hit and usually to kill one of their own allies, not to voluntarily introduce their whole personnel to me _._ Either that, or they think they can kill me then and there instead for even better money and infamy as I do have plenty of bounties on my head.

"But this here, what you have… I must say I am interested.”

Michael looked questioningly at Geoff and then back at the Vagabond, lowering his gun ever so slightly at seeing Geoff’s contemplating expression. Michael was the one to speak up first: “You thought we were planning to kill you?”

“Wouldn’t have been the first time someone's tried”, the Vagabond replied, watching Michael’s gun still be pointed right below his heart. He tilted his head, the mask’s permanent grin taunting them. “I should really think more about how I word things – been shot at for lesser reasons before.”

“But if we were trying to kill you, how were you going to stop us with you just strolling in like this?” Jack asked and the Vagabond’s gaze turned to her.

“I didn’t come in unprepared –“

“Anyway!” Geoff cut in to repeat his question, annoyed at not being on top of things. “Why the fuck are you really here?”

The Vagabond began to pull something from within his leather jacket, careful not to make any sudden movements as the crew watched him. He then placed the only a few pages thick file on the table before him and Geoff pulled it towards himself, opening it and quickly leafing it through.

“I see…” Geoff looked up and studied the Vagabond’s posture, trying to read his true motivations but the well put together act prevented him from doing so. “You have something against them as well?”

“Something like that”, the Vagabond answered casually and Geoff reached over to give the file to Jack who then let the rest of the crew to see it as well.

Gavin let out a sound of apprehension at the familiar information presented to him.

“What do you want from us?” Jack threw in next and the Vagabond went to sit down on the couch, Michael finally letting his aim drop.

“Help, to put it simply. I don’t have the local resources needed to find them all, and as you are already trying to figure out what they are planning next… Well, I can help you help me as you do so, and in addition I can also help you with whatever else you might need from me in the meanwhile”, the Vagabond said, revealing his bargain.

Geoff was unable to do much more than let out a shit-eating grin as the realization set in, making Jack's frown deepen as she understood that she’d be hearing about this for ages to come.

“Funny, guess I got the better end of the stick! That’s exactly the job I wanted to hire 'the Vagabond' for", Geoff said and proceeded to basically jump forward to shove his hand at the mercenary's face.

Geoff could practically sense the man lifting his eyebrow behind his mask during the pause that followed, but the mercenary didn’t let Geoff wait for too long before he shook the hand offered to him.

 

* * *

 

_“By the way, now that I'm here… You can call me Ryan.”_

 


	3. The legacy of a monster

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Are all killers self-conscious or is Ryan just an exception?

It didn’t take long for their discussion to be interrupted by the already rather intoxicated Brit.

“Ryan…?”

“That is my name, yes. What do you want, Gavin?” the Vagabond calmly replied, seemingly unsure what Gavin was going for as the man suddenly burst out laughing instead of continuing. He glanced at the others and noticed that he wasn't the only one confused - everyone still in the room shifted uncomfortably, more than likely wanting to return back to the more comfortable subjects at hand.

Even silence would have been better to them than letting Gavin to finally speak up in the mercenary’s presence.

“Wait, you are serious?! You mean your name actually is -”

“Why wouldn’t I be? Hey, there’s nothing wrong with my name!” the Vagabond interjected almost reflexively, appearing a little annoyed by the conversation being directed right back at his name the moment he thought that part of the meeting had been dealt with.

“Y-yeah, _nothing_ , and that’s exactly it! I expected something a little more odd from you!” Gavin exclaimed and made Geoff scoff with his reasoning.

“Then what names are considered odd by your standards, or fitting of me?” the Vagabond questioned irritably, although with honest curiosity now lacing his voice.

Gavin hummed thoughtfully, tapping his cheek as he turned to Jeremy for ideas. “Umm… What do you think, J?”

“Don’t get me involved in this, I have no idea!”

“Aww, come on! You got to have something!”

“You’re the one who asked the damn question, Gavin, answer him yourself”, Jeremy huffed back and began to inch away from the group, deeming that he had hung around for long enough by now to avoid any punishment. He felt jealous of Michael who had left the first chance he got – after loudly exclaiming that he needed no part in this the moment the Vagabond had apparently become a part of the crew.

“I don’t know…" Gavin mumbled on, seriously thinking of the question now. "It could be something old. Maybe an interesting one like Atrus, or simple like Richard – no wait, _Dick_ doesn’t sound evil at all -!”

“No name simply sounds evil without context, just drop it”, Jack said stiffly and Gavin pouted at her, the drinks he had had since their visitor’s arrival loosening his demeanour around the said killer a little more than he had planned for - normally he'd be the last person to talk to the new people, especially to someone known for being more than a simple mercenary and closer to a mass murderer.

“But _Ryan_ …” Gavin began to practically whine, trying to come up with a name more suitable of him, as if disappointed by this one mystery about the Vagabond being solved in such an un-fulfilling way.

Jack glanced at Geoff for support but the man only grinned back at her as he lounged in his seat, enjoying the show. He was still studying the Vagabond’s attitude around his crew, of course, and Gavin was the perfect person to have aggravate him to see the reaction it might get out of their newest addition.

But Geoff wasn't stupid enough to allow this to take place without his surveillance as he was well familiar with "the effect of Gavin Free", always reminded of the Brit's first meeting with Michael: looking at the two of them now, it was hard to believe any of that had ever happened. 

“Yes, _Gavin_ , that is still my name… I agree with Jack, though: I don’t think names have much to do with anything. What about all those horror movies and characters like Michael, Jason, Edward.. and plenty of Jacks and Johns, I’m sure. All normal, and that's why they creep people out as much as they do”, the Vagabond - or apparently now to be called Ryan - replied deep in thought. This made Gavin fall in a contemplating silence as well, muttering a little disappointedly under his breath:

“Oh yeah, those guys. All got pretty usual names, I suppose…”

“Yes! …Ah, and as a side note, I’d like to not be compared to them”, Ryan added with a small, uncomfortable laugh that Gavin returned with a slight delay, his eyes slowly widening as he bit down on his lip.

“Riiight, um, sorry about that…?” Gavin rubbed the back of his neck, his voice going quieter and quieter with each word as he suddenly recalled exactly who he was talking with.

Ryan tilted his head and leaned back, his eyes behind the mask looking through the few faces still remaining in the room and noting Jeremy now lurking by the doorway. Ryan then chose to ignore the change in Gavin’s tone and focused back on Geoff to continue their interrupted discussion on the details of his position in the crew.

Earlier, Ryan had been derailed by not wanting any of them to refer to him as the Vagabond for any longer than necessary – hearing the name said by this crew, all eyeing him suspiciously, hadn’t felt like the right way to go with it. 

If he was going to work with them, an actually friendly crew for the first time in such a long time, he knew he had to get used to the different feel it all had. Although he really didn't want to come to regret choosing to trust them with his name - or one of his names.

But it was also a relief for Ryan to, at least briefly, pretend that he could belong here. It made it easier. 

 

* * *

 

“So, what do you think?”

Geoff pranced in the room after driving the Vagabond – _Ryan_ , he had to keep reminding himself – back at the other end of the city, the mercenary not wanting to stay in the penthouse for too much longer while knowing that someone would want to - no, _have to -_  keep an eye on him then.

Jack sighed and gave Geoff a deadpan look. “He is here to stay, isn’t he? Nothing much I can do about that.”

“Yeah, yeah – what do you _think_?” Geoff repeated in tired excitement he couldn’t hide from her. He had really taken a liking to Ryan on his brief visit, or perhaps he was still trying to reason that he had made the right call with inviting him in the first place.

Jack hummed, thoughtfully now, and then nodded.

“I’m not saying he’s not going to be useful. And I am glad, this went a lot smoother than I feared it would. What I'm trying to say is that… Well, as long as we all keep an eye on him, I am willing to give him a chance. He seems nice enough - you know, ignoring the mask and the reputation.”

“Right, and I do know! Tomorrow will mark the beginning of the plan, then”, Geoff said with a grin and Jack got up to head to bed. 

“Today, you mean", she corrected him in the passing, and Geoff turned to glance at the time, surprised to see how late it already was after having stressed the day away. He then walked up to the windows and looked down at the lights of Los Santos, the city being way too bright even in the midst of night.

“Oh. Today…”

 

* * *

 

“You know, Geoff… I can easily find my way around on my own, there's no need to carpool every time”, Ryan said, sitting in the passenger's seat while Geoff raced them down the streets, laughing like a child as he did so.

“Hey, this is your first day on the job – got to make it special for you, don’t I? And that’s my way of saying that this is the last time I will do this, you’re on your own from now on. Or you could always stay over, there’s plenty of space in the -”

“I’d rather not. I’m sure you understand.”

Geoff’s grin didn’t falter and he tapped his fingers on the steering wheel along with the beat of the music they were listening to. “There’s also space in the garage so I’d recommend you to use that at least, to store any vehicles and what not you might want at hand.”

“Sure.”

They made it back to the penthouse with surprisingly few complications, not even the police taking any interest in them and Geoff's more than slightly reckless driving.

Once inside, Geoff called in the rest of the crew to send each of them to do their jobs for the day.

"First of all, Gavin and Ryan will join me to look into the Con and what each side", Geoff began once everyone was in the room, gesturing at Ryan and himself as he spoke, "wants with them, and then we'll try to come to an agreement about that.

"Meanwhile, Jack and Michael will go meet Joel and get the escape vehicles for the next hit - take them into the C-garages and inform the B-team to get everything ready on their end. Jeremy, you have a meeting with that contact Brownman directed us to, don’t be late. When everyone’s done, we'll meet back here and I'll let Ryan in on the plan!”

Michael’s steady glare was still being directed at Ryan – he was determined to keep calling the mercenary Vagabond, though – and not once did it falter.

“Really, Geoff, you trusting him with that already?”

“Why not? The hit’s nothing too big – it’s the perfect way to test you out, buddy”, Geoff said with a wink pointed at Ryan, continuing with his cheerfulness around the crew’s newest member. With Ryan’s mask and silence making Geoff unable to tell how exactly his friendliness was being received by the man, he was even more determined to keep at it. Better this than the nervous energy everyone else was standing around with, Geoff thought.

Michael grumbled under his breath and shared a look with Gavin, the Brit also looking a bit miffed.

“All right, that’s that. Let’s go”, Geoff spun around to head over to the offices and computer setups located within the lower levels of the penthouse, and Ryan followed after him, glancing around the decorations and rooms they passed while Geoff gave him a more in-depth introduction of everything as they went.

Gavin glanced uncertainly at Michael and the rest who only shrugged at him before going to do their own work. Only Jack stayed behind a little longer.

“Just act the way you did last night, Ryan seemed to open up to you more when you relaxed instead of pretending like you did”, Jack said and patted Gavin on the back. "He's not just going to shoot you or whatever it is you're expecting."

“You saying I should get drunk in these few moments I've got left? Cause otherwise I'd be faking it and that's the same as pretending… I don't get why Geoff let him in here this easily, he didn't with any of the rest of us, and that's the problem! Hard to relax when you don't even know what he looks like”, Gavin mumbled and Jack laughed, although agreeing with his point.

“You should just follow Geoff’s lead, it seems to work well enough.”

“How can you tell, with that mask?”

“I can’t, but Geoff’s still breathing, isn’t he? That’s good enough for me”, Jack said with a smile that Gavin returned. Soon after, she left with a wave of her hand, Gavin hurrying to catch up with Geoff.

And Ryan.

 

* * *

 

“And here’s the tech lair in which all the nerds reside whenever we need to organize something huge. But usually it’s just Gavin hanging out back here - his desk is over there”, Geoff said and pointed at the other end of the room. The number of screens and wires was overpowering but still, somehow, managed to make the space look bigger than it probably was as it was not meant for this much equipment.

Ryan couldn’t help but to whistle, impressed by the sight. He usually moved from one place to the next in a way that prohibited him from having his own mobile setup to be anything of this size – and speed. 

“Why is your desk the furthest from the door if you’re usually the only one here?” Ryan had to ask as the three of them passed by the other desks, some messier than the rest as every member of the B-team had their own specific seats and styles.

Gavin shrugged. 

“I was the first one here, and this used to be my bedroom before it got filled and I had to move the rest of my stuff upstairs… But this is still my spot”, Gavin said quietly and gestured at the computer that took up the most space out of the many in the room, covered in small marks and pictures that he considered necessary to plaster all over to mark it as his property.

“The B-team is only here when I want to see and hear all of their process at the same time. No point in keeping them at their own separate stations around the city then”, Geoff added and Ryan agreed with him, still looking around in appreciation.

“You have all the newest systems. Some of these haven’t even been released yet, it's impressive.”

Gavin couldn’t help but to grin slightly at that. “Of course, we work with only the best! Beginning with tech, ending with people.”

“Yeah, because someone will begin to whine the moment they hear a rumour of something new - good thing we have the methods needed to not wait as long as the public has to for something to come out. _Spoiled brats_ ”, Geoff said affectionately and pulled a seat for himself next to Gavin’s.

Gavin was quick to log in only when he was certain Ryan had his back turned to the screen as he went to get himself a seat as well. No risks were to be taken, as far as Gavin could help it.

“You know a lot about computers, Ryan?” Gavin asked after a brief silence as all of the equipment began to turn on, forcing himself to get over some of his reservations towards the other.

Ryan got back to the desk with a chair of his own, sandwiching Gavin between himself and Geoff as he sat down. Ryan’s mask then popped in a comical yes, Gavin seeing it reflected through the screen.

“I suppose so, I have certainly worked alone to track down enough targets to know how to work my way around all this. But I am here because I admit that I need help.”

“And the people here are able to help you better than those anywhere else, you've certainly come to the right place”, Geoff once again piped in with his praises, Gavin somewhat jokingly swatting at him.

“Go back to cursing at me or something - you’re beginning to creep me out, too", Gavin said with a laugh, Geoff grinning at him. Ryan looked at Gavin, his head tilting again as he more than caught on the meaning behind those words.

“Yeah, yeah… Anyway, let's see the Con’s file”, Geoff said after a moment of laughing, gesturing for Gavin to move along. “Right then, Ryan. I won’t be giving you a free access to our files or what we've got so far, but we can go through this shit together while you tell me all you have in addition to everything here. And you can use our equipment, work with Gavin to track them down and so forth.”

“Alright. Fair enough.”

“Yeah, sure is. But”, Geoff leaned his arms against the desk and looked at him past Gavin with a pleasant smile. “First of all… Please, go ahead and tell me why you are actually going after them?”

Ryan sighed, having expected the question. 

“How detailed do you need my answer to be?”

“None of the gorier details necessary”, Geoff replied with a chuckle. “Only share what I need to know. Also, I don’t have time to hear your whole life story or some shit.”

“It’s nothing that long, thankfully - I only had to deal with them for a brief while.”

“You worked for them?”

“What else?” Ryan answered with a humorless laugh. “But no, not exactly… Instead, there aren't many people who manage to make something personal to me, but they certainly found their ways… And I am very dedicated to making sure they know I haven't forgotten.”

“You… want them dead, then?” Geoff questioned, Gavin stiffening a little between them, and Ryan shook his head.

“Not really, not all of them anyway. But I will make sure they are never able to continue on with their chosen career path.”

 _“Ominous_ ”, Geoff whispered indifferently and then cracked his knuckles:

“The Con… They haven’t done much around here, not yet anyway. Or if they have, they’re keeping real quiet about it. We make noise, we want the attention of the public, and they don’t. But they’ve been stealing our deals and, allegedly, they're trying to turn the local dealers and the smaller crooks and crews against us. Yeah, even if we have no real idea of how big they actually are, it’s safe to say I want them gone.”

“Do you have any preferred methods?”

“Nah. As long as they know who’s in charge of this city, I don’t give a shit. Just… No reason to make it any more gruesome than absolutely necessary. That’s not why I hired you”, Geoff said with a pointed look, noticing the barely visible, painted over corners of Ryan’s eyes visibly crinkling in what he believed to be a grin - and a wide one at that.

“Of course, you are the boss after all. I don't do more than what is asked of me, and that's the point”, Ryan said and chuckled in acknowledgement of Geoff's words. He sounded sincere enough to make both Geoff and Gavin relax a little bit more in his company.

“Good to know we’re on the same page, there -”

“Umm, yeah, can we take a look at those files now?” Gavin finally spoke up, still awkwardly sitting between the two staring at one another over his head. 

“Sure thing, buddy." Geoff swiftly turned his attention back at the screen to begin to guide them through the files.

"Let’s begin with the photos!“

 

* * *

 

_“This is everything combined, then… Would seem like I might have to stay here for a while.”_

 


	4. Failure at communication

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's his first job together with the Fake AH Crew, and Ryan's already spent his "free-pass".

“Shit.”

“Lazer…”

“Yeah, yeah – shut up, Shannon. David, you still here?”

_‘Yes! But it’s not good in there, not good at all…’_

“Is Mich- uh, Vincent alright?”

_‘Um, fairly so but so is the Vagabond and I think that’s not what Vince needs right now. They’re on the other side, it’s all blocked up by the rubble -’_

“Is there anything you can do?”

_‘Not really, for now I can only tell you what’s happening inside while I'm trying to solve the interference and get everything back online. But until I do, there’s no way to contact them.'_

“Fucking hell, wasn’t supposed to be this much trouble…”

_‘Oh! Uhh, Geoff?'_

"…What now?"

_'Michael’s waving a grenade around and he doesn’t seem too happy about it –! ‘_

 

* * *

 

“Fuck, FUCK, the last thing I wanted was to get stuck in here with you -“

“Vincent-“

“ _SHUT UP!_  I don’t need to hear it, it's all your fault anyway! And here I thought _'the Vagabond is supposed to be the best at what he does -'_ “

“Hey, I never said that!” Ryan huffed back, carefully inspecting the room they were locked up in.

“Whatever! The cameras look like they are still working, Gavin might be able to see us even if the earpieces are down, so… at least they should know we are still alive… We need to find a way out and fast, there’s no way this shit wasn’t connected to a silent alarm.”

“Why would it have to be silent…? The explosion wasn’t, for sure”, Ryan mumbled on and Michael sent him a death-glare from behind his own mask.

“Yeah, well, the owners of this dumb aren’t too smart to begin with, should be no trouble for us to break out of here before they get anywhere near us. You saw how Roger dealt with his security – well, these people are even worse! And that’s why this was supposed to be easy. Until YOU stopped looking at your feet and tripped on a fucking visible as fuck tripwire, and almost blew the both of us up!”

“I was guiding you in, as I was supposed to do, and it’s not my fault I’m not used to working with a team! And if it was that viab- visible, someone could have said something about there being traps in the first place, because I sure didn't see any. _And I did look_ ”, Ryan argued back and, once he was certain there were no more traps around, began to knock on the wooden panels by the doorway to find out if there were any weak spots in the structure.

The door had been completely destroyed in the explosion and there was no way they’d be able to get out that way. And it was just their luck that the room they had taken cover in was of secure build and had no windows or furniture for them to work with.

“Fucking hell - _Gavin saw it!_ Through fucking black and white security footage that is grainy as shit, too! And the moment he did, I saw it too and I wasn’t even supposed to be looking your way, you lucky asshole. If you really had looked, you would have seen it!” Michael replied with a snort, fuming as he paced around the room and tried to find something usable.

As his search was proofing futile – there was nothing much to search through in the first place – and he became more and more frustrated, Michael began to empty his pockets to check if there was anything useful to be found there.

Michael pulled out the only grenade he had brought along, cursing at himself for thinking that he wouldn’t be needing any explosives for this mission and leaving them behind in the truck.

“You didn’t say -“

“We didn't _know_ , that's why you look down at your fucking feet as you move! And I threw you out of the way, _I didn’t have_ _time to say shit!_ ” Michael straightened, practically screaming now as he stomped up to Ryan. Michael glared up at him with his fists clenched and a little too close to being ready to punch him square in the face.

The effect of him raising his hand, about to poke Ryan on the chest to weight his point, had Ryan chuckle in alarm as the grenade the man was still holding entered his vision.

“Uh… Sorry?” Ryan tried, shrugging uselessly.

Michael hissed at him in annoyance, and then backed away. Even he had enough control of his anger to see that this was not the time to lose it.

Ryan tilted his head, carefully turning his attention back at the wall and continuing his study of the panels there.

“I… Uh, thank you for saving me, then. But I am a little confused… You hate me, obviously, so why risk your life to get me out of the way? I’d think that warning me, and jumping the other way to safety, would have taken less time than running at me and dragging me away.”

“Under orders to protect the team - and I like it or not, you are a part of it if Geoff says so”, Michael retorted, his voice going silent as he weighted the grenade on his hand. “Plus, saving dumb as shit crew members about to kill us all is kinda something I’m used to doing. Anyway, we’d both be dead, or close to it, without Gavin so spare your thanks to him. I don't need to hear it…”

_‘Yes! Praise me!’_

“Shit”, Michael jumped, surprised by the additional screaming in his ear. “Gavin!?”

_‘No! David, remember?'_

“You fixed the com- ?”

_‘Of course not boi, I’m speaking to you through a desperate attempt at telekinesis to tell you that grenades are a really bad idea, and Lazer and Shannon are right outside the wall on your left and blowing it up with something a little more safe - or absolutely not safe, knowing them - in less than a min!'_

"…Huh?"

_'So, take cover! NOW!!’_

“What the fuck –?!“

Ryan abandoned his spot first, having stood right against the wall in question, and ran to lead Michael by his shoulder to the other end of the room. They proceeded to flip over the flimsy desk there to use for cover, and then hunched down behind it.

“Get off”, Michael growled, trying to shrug Ryan's hand off of his shoulder to which Ryan replied with a laugh. But he was still adamant to not let go, not risking Michael backing even an inch away from their only protection.

“Just returning the favour -”

The wall blew open with no warning, the explosion not under any kind of control. 

The rubble was sent flying across the room as the building shook violently, throwing down both the desk and the two men hiding behind it.

“Holy fu-!”

 

* * *

 

“That sure was exciting."

"Wasn’t supposed to be…”

The crew sat in the living room in silence, everyone having cleaned up and fixed the few wounds they had received on their mission.

Geoff had his arms folded and a blank look on his face. They were speaking quietly as their ears were still ringing from the earpieces having finally given in during the explosion and sending a high pitched screech circling right back at them all.

Of course, the sound of the explosion itself taking place right by their side hadn't exactly helped either.

“They will be surprised to find that we blew the whole place up, and didn’t take anything we went in there for... As it all got burned up”, Jack said blandly, with little humour in her voice.

Michael was lying on the floor, completely given up on everything, and Geoff let out a small embarrassed chuckle.

“And that’s why we always let Michael deal with these things… How were we supposed to know that the storage was right below that room, or that the building would collapse in on itself from blowing apart that exact wall?”

“Anyone with even a little knowledge of the stuff you were using would have seen that you were basically planning to kill us all then and there! Or, even better, you could have waited a little longer and asked me - even with just a description I could have told you that was way too much! The exact wall had nothing to do with that dumb not holding it together...” Michael mumbled, his hands covering his face.

Gavin had showed him the playback from the security footage and what had happened after his and Ryan’s mishap with the trap, and Michael had then proceeded to promise - and threaten - the whole crew that he’d be giving them an extra lesson in the save usage of explosive material.

There was no way the bosses of the Fake AH Crew didn’t have a clue what they were doing with them, Michael had yelled at Geoff even with it hurting his own ears as well.

But Michael had deemed it worth it, now seeing the thoroughly embarrassed look on Geoff’s face.

“Not exactly what I was expecting from you first job, Ryan, but… Uh”, Geoff began but stopped as he still had no way to put into words what he had in mind.

Ryan rubbed the back of his neck, having hurt it in the fall as the floor had began to crumble from underneath them.

“I am, uh… I am not going to pretend that I wasn’t the one who messed it up for you first”, Ryan then said and Geoff nodded, also a little bruised and wary of unnecessary movement from the throwback of the "unexpectedly large" explosion.

“We all –“

 _“Not all of us”_ , Michael cut in, hissing at them from the ground, and Geoff sighed in affirmation.

“Okay, yeah, you're right. Not all of us fucked up… This wasn’t one of our most successful jobs for sure. Jack and I can’t really say that we did much better than you, Ryan. And Jeremy and Gavin had all changes to tell us we were at the wrong there but they went with it too, so…”

“Oi, I was busy trying to fix everything!” Gavin threw in, wanting to be on the winning side for once. Jeremy in the meanwhile whispered crankily:  _“_ And I was keeping cover at the front, didn’t see any of it go down until the building itself did…!”

Geoff glanced at them both but didn’t feel like going back on the issue, knowing that they were right and how he’d only lose the argument if he continued on with it. He sighed and turned back to Ryan instead.

“You messed up by not seeing a tripwire, and those things are designed for you to trip on them. We all made it out alright so it’s fine, and… This crew isn't known for perfection. We are reckless and we mess up even with the best of plans.”

Ryan hummed, and looked down to the ground where Michael was lying. “You are good at protecting each other, I noticed. That’s new to me.”

“Takes a while to learn the rhythm”, Geoff replied but his following laugh was cut short as his breath hitched, letting his volume fall closer to a whisper again to mind his own headache and injuries:

“…I guess this was a good lesson of that, and certainly not a, uh… waste… Although, it’ll be a while until we all feel up to doing something like this again, am I right?”

The room grumbled in agreement, only Gavin and Jeremy not bruised up but still suffering from a fainter version of the same headache everyone else had.

“I’m still a part of the team, then?” Ryan asked when Geoff began to get up from his spot to head towards his room to rest. Geoff patted him on the shoulder as he passed by, smiling widely.

“Of course? What did I just say! And just so you know, you ‘ _messing up’_ was nothing compared to Jeremy’s first day on the job.”

“Hey! No need to bring that up now”, Jeremy said but he appeared to be grinning at the memory and so was everyone else in the room. Ryan watched them curiously and his gaze stopped at Jeremy who continued to smile, shrugging back at Ryan as he got up as well.

One by one, everyone was fleeting out of the room and Ryan remained in his seat, half expecting someone to ask him to leave. He didn’t think they'd be okay with him just sitting around, especially not after today. Even if Geoff had asked him to stay in the penthouse once, he hadn’t actually thought the invitation to have been a real one, especially not so soon.

Silently, he watched as Michael finally blobbed himself up, sparing Ryan of his usual glares as he walked past without saying a word either.

It was odd.

They weren’t acting afraid of him anymore, only a little uncomfortable with his presence – and maybe a little angry at him, in Michael’s case – and Ryan wasn’t sure if he was happy about it as it went against the act he had spent so long building.

With that in mind, he was about to get up and take his leave even without being asked to do so, but before he could he noticed Gavin walk back to the room from the kitchen and make a full stop when noticing that Ryan was still sitting by the couch he had been about to take over.

Gavin seemed to try to make up his mind on whether to turn around or just get to the couch like he had been planning to do now that most of the crew was incapacitated. In the end, he made up his mind with a sigh and moved forward, jumping over the back of the couch and turning on the massive television setup they had. Apparently, Gavin wanted to play something simple and silent, to take his mind off of everything that had happened but still careful to not let his own headache grow out of portions.

Ryan watched him, no longer certain if he should just leave or at least say something to Gavin before he did. God was he bad at socializing after years of being on his own and ignored.

“…Right”, Ryan started, reminded of something he wanted to say anyway and wanting to get it out of the way, “I need to thank you, for warning Michael and saving me as you did.”

Gavin turned to him, blinking slowly as he tried to recall what Ryan was talking about as he had already made room in his memory by getting rid of the more unnecessary details of the previous job.

After a while, Gavin nodded his head and looked back at the tv.

“I didn’t just warn Michael, I tried to warn the both of you but… Anyway, Michael reacted way before I could… He’s the one you should thank.”

“Already did, he said to direct it to you instead. And from what I could tell, you warned him first and only then did he react, being able to tell exactly what you meant the moment you made a sound. You must have worked together for a long time to be able to do that…” Ryan pondered, the style of the Fake AH’s teamwork being something he had never quite witnessed.

Their trust and understanding of one another was the reason why they could cause seemingly unorganized havoc and have fun while doing so - and, most importantly, all make it out alive from it.

Ryan didn't know if he should be jealous of it or not, but today had left him grateful more than anything. After all, Michael and Gavin's coordination had saved his life after his own observation skills had failed him.

“We have, haven’t we? Been a long time…” Gavin simply said, still not too interested to speak with Ryan which the mercenary took notice of. He was glad to see it actually, but he still wanted to learn more of the crew and that was enough for him to break through his own thoughts to keep the Brit talking.

“What happened on Jeremy’s first day?” Ryan asked, and Gavin let out a surprised squeak. He glanced at Ryan, a small grin on his face as he recalled the events, but instead of explaining he shook his head.

“…There’s this ‘rule’ that only the one who caused it can share it, when it comes to the first mistake you do that almost, but not quite, kills someone. You got to ask Jeremy about it.”

“Really?” Ryan frowned behind his mask, and crossed his arms as he watched Gavin play Peggle with the sounds turned off. “That’s an actual rule with you people?”

“In a way, sure”, Gavin said, still grinning to himself as he explained: 

“Geoff was quick to realize that the people joining the crew were nothing but trouble and he though that if he was kind, and let us learn our lesson from our first big mistake without ever mentioning it again, we'd be more careful next time in 'fear of shame' or something. It's sort of a free-pass I guess, but it's dumb and has never worked. But at least it's fun to mention to the new guys so that they'll never quit bothering someone for a good story - like you're now doing with Jeremy! And that really is one of the best, you should ask him to tell you about it every chance you get and he'll break in no time.”

“I see", Ryan smiled to himself, the explanation fitting his image of Geoff and the Fake AH's madness perfectly. "I think I'll have to do that now… But what about yours? You must have messed up, too.”

Gavin laughed, pausing the game to lean back as he turned to Ryan. “More than most they say but, honestly, I’ve never bollocksed it as bad as some!”

“Should I believe you?” Ryan joked, his tone light, and Gavin seemed somewhat taken aback by it. But it didn't take long for him to nod, wanting nothing more than to finally have someone new he could share the mistakes of the other members without the crew throwing him under the bus from the start.

Still, there was nothing malicious in the tone of Gavin's voice as he spoke of the others even when the topic was their shared near-death experiences.

“Yeah, you should. You saw what happened today, with _Geoff and Jack_ of all people! They almost killed you all and it’s a surprise you made it out of the ruins with only a few bruises left to show for it. Come on, the whole building collapsed underneath you! At least I have never done something like that _._ ”

“I wouldn’t say it was the entire building”, Ryan replied, chuckling again, “but I do see your point. This crew could very well be the end of me.”

Gavin huffed as he turned back at the screen and unpaused the game to clear the level.

“Yeah… But the best part about being a part of this crew is that even when someone messes up, no matter how bad, after a while we're still all able to laugh about it. Like with Jeremy's first job - it's a funny story for us to share, but it might not sound like one to an outsider. You tell me what you think once you hear it.”

“You mean they will never forget what happened today?”

“Nope. Geoff and Jack will never hear the end of it, but you have 'the pass'”, Gavin glanced at Ryan again and smirked. “As long as we are all okay, we’ll live and learn - or live at least, and have fun with what we've got. YOLO!”

“Huh… That's quite the philosophy you have…”

Gavin simply continued smiling and Ryan chose to go with it, changing the subject.

“…You can't actually _like_ that game, right?”

 

* * *

 

_“I did it! You see that score, Ryan, impressed yet? Oh hey, do you want to try this level - I bet I can beat you no problem, Ryan!”_

 


	5. Big step for our kind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Routines begin to set in and Ryan's letting go of his act - but maybe he should be more keen to notice the small things, instead of spending his time reminiscing about flowers.

“The Con is a shadow.”

“That’s kinda cryptic, don't you think…?”

“Sure is. But I have found no other way to explain their existence.”

“How come?”

“Tell me this, Gavin: when you try to describe the Con to the rest of the crew, how do you put it?”

“Uh…” Gavin began, taken off-guard by the subject which really shouldn’t have come as such a surprise, considering he and Ryan had been stuck looking up new leads on the Con for days now under Geoff’s orders. “Well, they… contact people. And then have those people go to meetings and sign contracts that they proceed to do nothing with, or for now they haven’t - thus allowing us to ‘terminate’ a lot of their stuff. But…”

“They have no names, they buy and donate things - from weaponry to food - that they then decline to pick up on their own, and this doesn’t piss anyone off since they actually pay for their orders and then let the suppliers re-sell the stock after a while which makes no sense but only bothers your Crew for some reason _._ And they do all this with seemingly no aim, only using paid figures to deal with their business so there are no faces to connect to them…”

Ryan sighed, having dedicated far too long of his lifetime to the Con.

“Those are shadows, and that’s exactly what scares Geoff so much about them… Everything they are and do is irrational”, Ryan finally stated, rubbing his eyes as he kept his blank gaze at the screen, having taken over the computer closest to Gavin’s own set-up.

Gavin slowly nodded in return, wringing his hands as he stared at the photos and footage splayed all across the screens on the wall.

The photos were of nobodies: Some homeless people, small time criminals and all and any who’d do basically anything for a few coins offered to them. And none of these people had any idea who they were actually working for, only walking around to deal business in the Con’s name with money and orders that they had received from nowhere.

“Okay… I guess ‘shadow’ is just about right, you know them better than I do. I mean, you have a reason to hunt them, we don’t. Not really, not yet… So you know more than we -”

Gavin paused and looked at Ryan carefully, seeing how the mercenary shifted uncomfortably in his seat. What little Ryan had told them about his past over the short time he had now spent in the penthouse had made it more than clear that he was uncomfortable with the subject, and the crew could sympathize - Gavin more than most.

But the week or so straight they had now worked together had also made it obvious that the other man’s act was beginning to slip in every field of his being, although the Brit hadn’t had the chance to note if anyone else in the crew had seen the same change. They had all been busy and more often than not it had been only Gavin, Ryan and Geoff who hung around the base for longer periods of time.

“I mean… I’m just saying that Geoff, well, he’s been suspicious of the Con for a while now, what with everyone else ignoring or almost praising them instead! And I get we’re suspicious of them for a good reason, seriously, they call themselves a con and then give the local crews free, _real_ , money for no reason? There’s got to be more to it!”

“…and then there’s the fact that they have never tried to contact Fake AH, but seem to try to make a move at every other crew in the area, small or large. And especially those who are not too fond of you”, Ryan mumbled thoughtfully, grateful to take the out Gavin had offered him.

The Brit nodded furiously at Ryan’s words, the situation not making any more sense now than it had when the Con had first made an appearance.

“Well, it’s too soon to be saying anything about _that_ … We could just be thinking too highly of ourselves again”, Gavin then replied with a shrug but his voice carried no confidence in his statement.

After all, it was obvious to him that the Con and Fake AH would be crossing paths soon – Ryan’s arrival, if anything, had been proof of that.

 

* * *

 

“So…”

“ _Oh please_ , save me from the small talk –“

“Are you sure this is going to work?”

“Yes. Now: Shut. Up.”

Ryan hummed, him having become familiar with the crew's patterns making him unable to stop himself from purposely annoying the other man who always answered to his banter. He then turned to Jeremy who shrugged apologetically at him, but with a similar glint of amusement in his eyes as the two of them watched Michael work on the download.

“We’re just –“, Jeremy tried next, knowing what Ryan’s was aiming for and joining in on his efforts, but Michael stopped him before he could actually get into it by retorting back:

“I know you’re bored! You already made it clear, thank you very much…”

“Okay, okay! Geez…” Ryan said with a laugh which made Michael turn his head to briefly glare up at him. That was enough to finally get Ryan to back away ever so slightly. Although enjoying the situation, he was not willing to cross any lines to make the other man’s anger flare.

Instead, Ryan walked up to Jeremy who lounged at the other end of the room, glancing down to the street below with half-hearted focus.

If anyone was trying to sneak up on them, the three in the room would be the last ones able to notice it from where they stood.

 _‘What’s your estimate?_ ’ Lindsay’s – who Ryan had never met but whose quirks he had quickly grown to like during the few times they had worked together – voice rang through their earpieces.

 _‘Ten minutes’_ , Michael grumbled as an answer, his voice a whisper as he focused on the screen before him so much so that Ryan and Jeremy were only able to hear him quietly through their earpieces even if they stood only a few meters apart.

 _‘Ten minutes…? Um, you need any help with that?’_ Lindsay questioned and Ryan perked up again to speak: “Well, you could always let me –“

“I said: SHUT. UP! I’ve done this before and I don’t need your fucking help.” Michael didn’t turn around on his seat, his voice loud but lacking an actual threat. Ryan frowned thoughtfully behind his mask, even as he continued on with the light tone of voice:

“You don’t, but we could still get out of here a hell of a lot faster if you just trusted me with this one.”

Michael’s brows furrowed closer together in concentration that was directed at both the computer and Ryan’s words.

“It’s got nothing to do with trust –“

 _‘Michael, come on, I’ve got better things to do with my time than this. You know how much securing this line costs?’_ Lindsay joked, sounding cheerful but with a sharp edge on her words making it clear that she had heard enough of the subject already both in and outside of work.

“Fine! Fine, Ryan, get on with it”, Michael pounced out of his seat, gesturing for Ryan to step forward with a half-assed salute to seal the deal.

Ryan, a little surprised at how quickly Michael had given up in comparison to the previous times they had had their daily standoffs regarding every single thing they did, stepped forward and looked over everything Michael had already gotten done.

 _‘How long?’_ Lindsay asked again and Ryan hummed under his breath.

“Well… Still smells like a trap to me, no way it is supposed to take this long to open the damn thing and transfer the files. But, two more minutes and I’ve got everything.”

_‘Alright… There is a good reason for that, and you have nothing to worry about. And whatever it’s worth – Gavin and I have our eyes on you.’_

“You have half the main crew standing around a lone computer in the middle of an abandoned neighborhood… This got to be a big deal”, Ryan mumbled.

“It is and it is not”, Jeremy said, still leaning against the window as Michael stared outside by his side. “You know how it is, just a protocol… Take the people selling us the intel seriously from the start, and they’ll grow to trust us with even bigger deals in the future.”

Ryan typed on, tilting his head thoughtfully. “So, is this an old business partner deserving of your full allegiance, or a new one needing to be ensured of it?”

_‘Old, once the trust is built you don’t want to break it - having the main crew around for this stuff works as proof of that. And decoding and transferring the files has always been difficult with them, for protection. If the wrong people get here before we do, they won’t be getting the data out intact without the unit we have, at least not fast enough to not be caught once the alarm rings.’_

“Oh…”

There was a brief silence, Ryan typing along on the computer and Michael and Jeremy chatting on the other end of the room, until Lindsay spoke up again:

_‘How do you usually get any of this work done? Like, do you have a set of clients you can recycle from time to time?’_

“Uh… Usually everything I need is provided by the clients – and you’d be surprised by how many of them wish to personally meet me before they trust me with anything. And the trust is built by getting the job done, but it doesn’t really matter much as I rarely work for the same people more than once, and they don’t exactly go and advertise my expertise to their friends… My reputation does all that for me, even if most of the stuff you know about me isn’t even true. Not that I’m complaining, gives me a wider range of jobs to choose from.”

“Really? That’s weird… I mean, the meeting part, would have thought that’s a bit of a liability for them to, you know, call the merc for a visit before the hit”, Jeremy replied thoughtfully, not exactly certain what he had expected the Vagabond’s chosen career path to be like.

Ryan turned to look at Jeremy, giving him a questioning look that the others couldn’t exactly see through the mask.

“If you’re imagining me as an assassin hired by rich people who want me to kill off their even richer spouses, inviting me to their living rooms to drink some tea while we talk it through, then… Sorry to disappoint, but… I'm quite boring. I usually work for crews like yours, and actually it’s more usual for me to go for intimidation or backup on the field, not for literal assassinations.”

 _‘Some of it has to be true, though – what about Roger!? That was exactly what your reputation expected from you! …Not that I saw it’_ , Gavin piped up on the line, having been busy with his sweep of the area.

“Oh, right”, Ryan said after a pause, turning his full attention back at the screen and watching the process bar, simultaneously fighting to not let his back stiffen.

“It… It sure was. The Rangers, uh, well… Roger deserved what he got, and every now and then I need to do something to keep people aware of my presence”, Ryan mumbled uncomfortably, the drive finally finishing the read. He quickly got up from his seat to change the subject and get going.

“We’re done here, you still waiting on the other side of the building?”

_‘Yup! Everything’s clear so let’s get this done and take the rest of the day off – you in for swimmy bevs, Micoo? Lil’J? Lindsay’s in, I got to ask Geoff and Jack later –‘_

“Whatever…” Michael drawled out, feigning disinterest even with an expectant grin on his face and Jeremy also nodding along eagerly: “Great way to end a boring as hell day, of course I’m in!”

_‘Top! What about you, Rye?’_

The lads in the room turned to look at Ryan who was still packing the drive that he considered way too heavy for its small size, his mind running blank at everyone's attention on him. The mercenary paused to glance at the other two in the room and slowed in his movements to think the question through.

Ryan was unsure of how exactly he had given out the sign of being interested in hanging out with the others. The bruised up day he had spent watching Gavin play Peggle while his own headache had grown too much for him to be able to leave the base for hours on end was the only time he could think of when he hadn't fled their company the first moment he could.

But even then, all he had done was fall asleep by the couch, to his great embarrassment, only to be woken up when Geoff had tried to take a photo of him. As Geoff had said, a photo of "the Vagabond sleeping peacefully with a flower crown placed over his skull-masked head" must be a piece of art worth millions in some markets out there. 

Ryan, to both Geoff and his own surprise, had then let him keep the photo as a payment for his services, not questioning where the crown had even come from in the first place. Or, how he hadn’t been woken up by someone sneaking up on him, which Ryan should have found to be of some concern.

Ryan pulled himself from his thoughts, the others looking at him patiently at his long pause. He cursed his awkwardness and getting lost in memories, still not used to people actually paying him any mind, as he finally cleared his throat to answer: “I… I have other things to do. I wasn’t even supposed to be here today, and I don’t really get why you dragged me along _for this_ –“

“It was Michael’s idea”, Jeremy said quickly and Michael gave him a glare that the shorter man promptly ignored as he put on his sunglasses. “It's all about getting you and Gavin something else to do since you’ve been stuck with the computers for days now. Even if, technically, Gavin’s still stuck in the car with his setup and you’re doing the same thing here… But hey, it’s the thought that counts!”

_‘Aww! So sweet! And that’s the exact reason why you should come with us, Ryan! A day off! We deserve it!’_

“I really can’t, not today“, Ryan repeated with a shake of his head.

“Some other day then, tomorrow maybe? Great! We don’t have any plans for the weekend, anyway – for once”, Jeremy grinned and reached to pick up his hat from the shelf behind him, his glasses glinting as he placed it on top of his head. He and Michael then walked out of the room without another word, leaving Ryan standing by the desk with an uncertain smile hidden behind his mask.

Speaking of the mask.

 _‘Hey Rye, if you went swimming, would you take the mask off or not?’_ Gavin asked as an afterthought, making Ryan’s steps slow down again while he was working to catch up with the others.

Jeremy glanced behind him to watch Ryan’s reaction to the question, the mask having been an issue no-one in the crew had been willing to bring up, but Ryan only shrugged after a moment before voicing his answer:

“Well, I’d sure hope so. I doubt it would be comfortable anyway and I wouldn’t want to suffocate by accident. Safety first and all that.”

 _‘Riight, if you dove and… Wait, it wouldn’t be any different from not having… It’s not like it… No, wait?’_ Gavin answered in confusion, making Ryan actually think harder on the "problem" at hand.

“It covers my mouth and the material could stick to my face, once I get back on land –“

“What if… Could your own mask end up being the thing to achieve what so many others have failed at? What if you slipped down a cliff and fell into the ocean during a mission or something?” Jeremy questioned, making Ryan huff in annoyance.

“I’d like to believe I was already incapacitated for some other reason and the mask gluing itself to my face wasn’t the thing to ultimately finish me off. But still, it could be a safety hazard if I can’t get it off in time!”

“You just got to rip it off before it comes down to that… That level of irony in death would be bullshit”, Michael said, and Ryan nodded his head.

“Still, I don’t think getting it off would be the first thing in my mind at that point…”

 _‘Then someone will have to be there to get it off for you, I guess’,_ Gavin said with a laugh, Ryan chuckling along with him.

“Oh, okay. Phew, that’s a weight off my chest! I should have known someone would be on the cliff with me, ready to jump after me once I keel over.”

They walked down the stairs, Ryan relaxing once more in his steps.

“Anyway… I don’t think I’ll be going for a swim any time soon, so, no ‘swimmy bevs’ for me today… Actually, no ‘bevs’ any day.”

_‘But –?‘_

“Tomorrow I could take a short break though, maybe.”

No-one asked why he wore the mask in the first place or why he couldn’t just take it off, and Ryan forgot to wonder why – he also forgot to wonder when he had begun to feel thankful for the crew showing any interest in him beyond that of his skillset, or when he had begun to show that interest back, initiating foolish conversations to pass the time.

What he did have time to register though was Lindsay cursing before she raised her voice, Gavin squeaking in the background as he belatedly saw the same footage she was currently watching:

_‘You’re going to have company in a sec, guys! Gavin, get them out of the streets!’_

 

* * *

 

Gavin rushed over to the driver’s seat, Lindsay’s steady voice keeping him and the others updated on the situation. He pulled the brake and backed, the van lurching heavily and trying to follow the drastic turns of the wheel.

 _‘How many are there?’_ Michael’s voice echoed as Lindsay went on to give them the estimates. 

_'There are three trucks, two blocking the southern and northern entrances – the last one coming for you. Heavily armed, looks bullet proof. Logo… It’s Pargas. Fuck, how did they even -?’_

Gavin pressed down on the gas, the van swaying from one side to the other as he headed towards the alley from the other side of the building. He cursed under his breath, uncomfortable with the way the car was not quite in touch with his commands – either they needed a better vehicle or he should have taken those extra lessons.

Next, Lindsay said that the Pargas had pulled to the front of the building, windows slightly opened to let them shoot at the walls and apparently not worrying about the wasted bullets.

_‘And you’re sure they’re heading for us?’_

_‘Hah, good one Jeremy… I’ll give you the signal when Gavin gets through to the alley next to you, stay in cover. The team's getting your escape route ready’_ , Lindsay called through the noise and Gavin could barely hear Jeremy, Michael and Ryan coming up with their plan of action on the other end, one of them already returning fire.

 _‘Ryan and I will keep them busy at the front’_ , Jeremy managed to state while making his first shots, just enough to keep their enemy covered in their car. _‘You take the hard-drive, Michael, and take the room on the right – you have grenades or something you can use to distract them?’_

_‘Hell yeah I do, not making the same mistake as last time…’_

_‘Good, take them out when Gavin gets through and right next to us, then we all run out and leap straight in to the van to get the fuck out of here’_ , Ryan’s steady voice carried through the earpiece.

Gavin crossed through to the alley leading right next to the crew's hideout on the other side, Lindsay telling Michael to get ready to not miss the timing.

The Pargas were making their way out of their truck, taking cover behind it, and Ryan and Jeremy’s aim was no use against the bullet proof vehicle in between them.

While listening to the pointless gunshots that weren’t reaching their targets on either side, Gavin couldn’t help his hold tightening on the steering wheel.

 _‘Sync?’_ Lindsay’s voice carried the crew onward as Gavin and the van made their approach.

There had to be more to it -

 _‘Sync’_ , Jeremy answered her, taking a hold of the door while Ryan made his final shots in preparation for their escape.

Hadn’t the Pargas been one of the crews on the Con’s list -

 _‘Fire.’_  The calmness of Michael’s voice couldn’t hide the grin plastered on his face as he threw the explosives at the truck in the middle of the street.

The Pargas yelled, pulling back in cover as the grenades landed around them, Gavin braking down by the corner of the building just in time to see it.

Someone was laughing and Gavin was slow to register that it wasn’t Michael. He watched as Jeremy ran towards the van, Michael jumping through the apartment's window to catch up with him as Ryan followed behind, making sure the Pargas were all incapacitated and unable to take a cheap shot at their backs.

But while the rest of the Fake AH's ears were still ringing from the grenade, Gavin was the only one to realize that the Pargas were laughing and not even trying to catch them as the three jumped in the van, Gavin having left the side door open for them.

“Fuck!” Michael practically screamed as they all made it in, Gavin hitting on the gas again to back down the alley while praying that he could keep the van going in a straight line.

“Wha- what was that, what’s going on?!” Jeremy asked as he took a heavy breath, his eyes wide as he jumped to the front seat next to Gavin, preparing to take aim if they were to be followed.

But they weren’t.

The Pargas’ truck pulled in to the end of the alley and the crew was only watching as the van hurriedly backed away from them, even if it would have been easy for them to run them down before Gavin was able to turn and drive off – and even then, he was driving a van that wasn’t exactly meant for a car chase.

“T-they were laughing”, Gavin said with panic in his voice and Ryan hissed, his jaw clenching as he gripped on the back of Gavin’s seat.

“STOP THE VAN!”

Gavin hit down the brakes without thinking for a second if he should be listening to the mercenary or not. Without wasting any time, Michael followed after Ryan as the man jumped out of the still open side door, Gavin and Jeremy not far behind them.

One of the Pargas had had an RPG ready to shoot a grenade down the alley, the van blowing up as the rest of Pargas cheered at the explosion.

 

* * *

 

_‘MICHAEL! What happened?!’_

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks to lorifish for the comment that reminded me to finally finish and upload this chapter! And thank you to everyone for reading, kudos and all that, it’s awesome to see the numbers go up!


	6. Six feet below

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Pargas know they’re not dead yet.

Jeremy had been the last one to jump out of the way of the explosion and the first to open his eyes once it was done with, the flames roaring right by their side. He got back to his feet with his ears ringing, shaking his head clear as he turned to look at the wreck in disbelief.

They had taken cover in a crevice in the alleyway, one that led to a sealed doorway that Ryan had tried – and failed – to kick open the moment he had leaped in it for safety.

Now there was a crack on the wooden door, a metal piece of the van having been thrown at it with enough force to push the door inside a few inches. The sight was terrifying, considering how much damage the wreck could have dealt to the crew and their squishy bodies.

As such, Jeremy was more than a little relieved to see that nothing had hit them as they were, piled up against the building - Gavin firmly covering his ears and Michael now getting up with a hitch in his breath.

Ryan, who had been crushed under as the crew had tumbled over him after his failed door-kicking attempt, was cradling his right arm with a hiss as he straightened his back, his eyes wide behind the mask.

“T-the Pargas…?”

Jeremy cursed, carefully peeking behind the corner while avoiding the flames still engulfing the van right by them. Through the cover of the smoke he could see the Pargas’ car still standing by the entry but the crew had gone back inside to watch, most likely in a hurry to escape from the scene the moment they were certain of the deaths of the AH members.

The police must have been alerted already – even in an abandoned district such as this, a van blowing up after multiple gunshots has to be of concern to someone.

“What are they after…?” Jeremy mumbled, not even hearing his own voice with the explosion still blaring in his ears.

“They blocked the other two exits, knowing where Gavin was coming from and that we’d have to go back the same way. Fuck”, Michael hissed, picking up his gun and then pulling Gavin back on his feet.

“Okay… Okay, Lindsay? You still there?” Gavin asked quietly and the lads stopped for a second to listen for a reply that they didn't receive.

Ryan managed to get back on his own feet to assess the door’s condition, the hinges letting down enough for them to be able to push it in easily enough.

“Let’s get inside, try to g-get to the other side…” Ryan said with a somewhat unsteady voice and the others nodded, Gavin studying Ryan carefully and inching closer in case the mercenary was going to topple over.

“Lindsay must have called for backup… If the Pargas continue to hang around until then, they’ve got nothing to the fury of the Fakes”, Michael continued, coughing as the smoke was getting heavier by the second as the flames began to dim.

“They don’t… But the police will be here in a sec too, and that’s not gonna be fun for anyone.”

The four of them were ready to push the door, Ryan using his left shoulder as his right arm declined to work with him. As expected, the door gave in without much effort but the moment it did, Ryan slid down against the wall. Gavin reached out to steady him.

“Rye, you okay?” Gavin asked as he knelt down by the mercenary, Ryan nodding slowly.

“I… I think I hit my head, nothing major. And the arm's a little numb.”

“Oh…” Gavin looked up at Michael and Jeremy, the youngest carefully peeking around the corner again. He saw the Pargas slowly beginning to maneuver their truck down the alley to check up on the wreckage. To their credit, they apparently weren’t stupid enough to blindly believe the explosion had been enough to wipe the Crew out, and neither were they taking the risk of getting out of their bullet proof truck to face them.

“For the first time in my life I’m thinking: why can’t the police get here in time…?” Jeremy sighed as he pulled back in cover, Michael and Gavin crouching to help Ryan stand back up. They lifted his arms over their shoulders and Ryan hissed in pain as Gavin moved his right one. Gavin didn’t bother with pointless apologies, having no time to worry about the fracture the mercenary most likely had what with his arm turning in a slightly off angle.

Michael and Gavin then hurriedly dragged Ryan through the door, Jeremy holding his gun steadily as he watched their backs, trying to push the door at least somewhat closed as they fled back in the old apartment building.

 

* * *

 

Michael and Gavin continued to drag Ryan along with them, aiming for the opposite end of the apartment to get as much distance as possible between themselves and the Pargas before deciding how to continue. When they finally stopped to quickly contact the rest of the crew, Michael pulled out his earpiece and glared at it in anger as he threw it on the ground before taking out his phone.

“Seriously, this is happening again? Why can’t they come up with something that’s actually reliable and doesn’t stop working the fucking moment we tumble around a bit!?”

Jeremy pulled ahead to check the next room and took note of the windows that had been blocked on this side of the building as well. Trying to pry them open would take time and would also alert whoever might be watching on the other side.

“We didn’t exactly take the good stuff for this gig…” Gavin mumbled quietly, still holding on to Ryan to not let the mercenary slump down. “Wasn’t supposed to go… well, like this.”

"Never is", Michael snapped and cursed again as he called Lindsay who had already tried to reach them multiple times.

_‘Michael! Is everyone –? ‘_

“We’re all good, Ryan’s a bit out of it but still breathing… Do you have any idea what’s going on outside?” Michael spoke quietly yet with rapid urgency as he turned the speaker on, Lindsay letting out a brief sigh of relief before she replied:

_“I didn’t have eyes on the alley, but the Pargas’ trucks are on your asses: all three groups are surrounding the building and probably preparing to send a group inside. Nearby Fakes have been alerted to the scene, too - Matt’s trying to contact Gavin so make him answer his damn phone – and you’re gonna be getting your first wave of backup in a moment. But it’s not going to be much…”_

“Okay, fuck – but how the hell is _no-one else_ already here, they blew up our fucking van”, Michael said as he signaled for Gavin to take out his phone, switching places as Michael went back to holding Ryan and Jeremy remained covering them by the door.

_“I have no idea… The police has been alerted but, as far as we can tell by monitoring their traffic, they're stalling. Someone’s probably paying them to stay out of this one for a little bit longer. No-one will care anyway, the area you're in is pretty much abandoned...”_

“Either way, it- it makes this something more than just a simple hit…” Ryan mumbled, clinging on to Michael and staring at Jeremy’s back anxiously, waiting for the signal to get back on the move.

Meanwhile, Gavin had made contact with Matt and stayed on the other end of the room as he was being run through the setting and what was happening around them. Gavin, in return, briefly explained to Matt their supposed location in the building to guide the crew in charge of extracting them - they had to use the little time they had to organize their escape if they wanted to avoid running right back at their pursuers.

Gavin then addressed both Matt and the crew stuck in the room with him:

“The Pargas was on the Con’s list, one of their latest contacts – Ryan and I were checking their movements for a few days but there was nothing suspicious there as far as we could tell, looked like they blew the Con off. But, apparently, we were wrong.”

“Yeah, w-we did not think they were interested in coming after us so we watched them to see if we could use them to gain more information on the Con somehow… P-point being, we had our eyes on them and we still didn’t see any of this coming, and the Pargas are neither smart nor good actors for f-fucks sake…” Ryan continued, straightening his back ever so slightly and cursing lowly in pain as his arm was jostled by the movement. “They’re good, the Con… T-they know what they want and they’re going to get it.”

“You saying the Con’s actually making a move, now? We don’t even know who they are but they got to know us from somewhere to have a reason for this.” Jeremy frowned, still keeping his voice low as he listened for any movement within the building. They didn’t have much time left until they’d have to hurry onward, it wouldn’t take long for the Pargas to notice what had happened.

“Seems to me they want us dead, simple as that. I guess they’re done with their mind games and coming at us with all they’ve got”, Michael stated, Ryan nodding next to him.

“But they still have the higher ground, Jeremy’s right: We don’t know what they have against us. But they were almost able to wipe out three members of the Fake AH with one shot, along with the Vagabond. Geoff and Jack would have lost it then and there…” Gavin said.

Ryan sighed.

“T-the Con’s not afraid of pissing you off and making you an even more powerful of an enemy, and they are now ready to make sure you k-know they exist”, Ryan said, regaining a little more of his stance. “They want to make this personal, t-they want Geoff to hunt them down with all he’s got. That’s… That’s their style.”

“That’s what they did to you…” Gavin said with a frown, not meaning it as a question as he already knew the answer, briefly glancing up from his corner.

Ryan stilled, looking at Gavin and then at Michael who made a point of not looking back, pulling his phone to his ear to better hear Lindsay’s side of the operation breakdown.

Ryan hummed slightly and then nodded, Gavin giving him a sympathetic nod back before looking down at the ground. He had been absentmindedly sketching out a map of their surroundings on the dirt as the full image was continuously being copied directly into his mind, Matt preparing Gavin so that he could lead them out of the spot they were currently stuck in.

Gavin was good with details like that.

 

* * *

 

“They’re coming.”

Jeremy’s quiet words set everyone in the room back into motion, the brief break having been used to coordinate the crew's movements.

Jeremy cocked his gun towards the other door and Gavin nodded, getting back to his feet and with headphones in his ears so that he could focus on Matt’s voice even as they moved – thankfully he had had a pair in his pocket.

Gavin motioned for the others to follow in his lead, Michael taking Ryan’s gun and giving his own pistol to Gavin who hadn’t had the time to grasp a weapon of his own before he threw himself out of the van.

With Jeremy covering their backs and keeping an ear on their followers, Michael supporting Ryan onward with Lindsay on an open line in his pocket, and Gavin leading the four of them back in the halls of the abandoned apartment complex, the crew began to make their way towards the point where Lindsay and Matt had arranged their pickup.

As the Pargas was now set in every corner of the building, and the AH-team alerted to get them was not the most well prepared for the situation at hand, there was no room for error or allowing their current stand-out to drag on for any longer than necessary.

 _‘Okay, we’re getting close but… Yeah, we’ll stay out of sight until you make it to the other end. Don’t want to get in an unnecessary gunfight’_ , Matt repeated, mostly talking to himself but Gavin still hummed in agreement although the other couldn’t properly hear him at this point.

Gavin moved along from one room to the next, thankful for the blocked windows that protected them from the Pargas they knew to be circling the building on the outside. Since the area was mostly abandoned, there weren’t many surveillance cameras for the crew to work with when securing their way and it was down to their own stealth to keep them hidden from view.

They stopped by the front door of the apartment, hearing the Pargas enter the hallway on the other side.

Gavin glanced back at the others, Jeremy gesturing that he could hear two sets of footsteps following them as some of the members had finally entered the building the same way they had - the Pargas had been quick to organize their advance in the building, although they must have been more than a little surprised to see that seemingly all of the AH members had been able to avoid the full blast of the explosion.

Now, the Pargas was awfully quiet in their movements as they advanced through the rooms, taking the hunt with carefulness the crew in question wasn’t exactly known for. It was disconcerting, to say the least.

“We need to cross the hallway”, Gavin whispered and the others nodded, Michael dragging Ryan a step closer to be able to hurry across with him the moment they had an opening. Gavin reached out to unlock the door, taking a deep breath and peeking out as he heard the Pargas follow the hallway to their left, most likely expecting the exit of the apartment the Fake AH was in to be in that direction.

Gavin scurried across the hall the moment he ensured it to be empty, leaning to check the lock of an apartment not directly in front of the one they were coming from in hopes of misleading their chasers. They heard the bang of the Pargas kicking a door open somewhere behind them, not all of their members able to work with the same precision the rest were showing – this was confirmed by a curse that carried over in the silent halls, one of the men having apparently punched another in annoyance at their actions.

Thankfully, the locks were in the same shape as the rest of the building and it didn’t take long for Gavin to prop it open. He let the others in before closing the door again, not blocking it with anything to hopefully buy them a little more time by being discreet.

Then the crew hurried past the entrance, to a space that most likely used to have been a living room, and through a doorway that led them to the bedroom that faced the eastern wall of the building. This location put them the furthest away from the entryway, and the closest the building allowed them to get to where Matt was planning to have them picked up from. 

“What now?” Jeremy asked, leaning on the wall and listening to what he presumed to be the Pargas entering the apartment closest to the one they were in, their quiet steps echoing around them.

“We are in the room now”, Gavin said to Matt who answered immediately with way too much enthusiasm:

_‘Okay, great, and I guess the boarded window shouldn’t become a problem?’_

“Yeah, just give the signal”, Gavin answered, holding the phone close to his chest. “Uh… By the way, what have you got in mind?”

 _‘We’re gonna have to rush it, trying to get you out with as little resistance as possible. The Pargas hurriedly placed the two trucks on both sides of the building and only seem to have the men from the third in there with you. Correct?’_ Matt continued, ignoring the question.

“Yup, we’ve only heard five of them in here so far… And they’re getting close so I’d really appreciate it if you could, _you know_ , hurry up –“

_‘Yeah yeah, I have someone set to head up high to catch the Pargas' attention from above; the moment they’re ready to go, you’ll recognize the distraction. The crew on the other side will not be a problem, the truck has no way to get around to you in time thanks to the van's wreck blocking the fastest way through, so, our only problem are the four guys on this side – most of who are standing about 65 feet to the left from your location – and the five with you inside. We’re good.’_

“Okay, _good_ …” Gavin sighed, looking at the others to relay Matt's message. “Apparently, we’ll know when we need to get the hell out of here. And there are four guys on the outside waiting for us, 65 feet to the left.”

Ryan grinned tiredly at that and Jeremy lifted his gun a little more in preparation.

Fake AH was known for their distractions - they were loud and impossible to miss, for sure.

 

* * *

 

Jeremy took in a steadying breath as he heard the Pargas finally enter the apartment they were still holding up in. The five members had regrouped by the front door, knowing that the AH wouldn’t have been able to go to any other place than the last two apartments opposite of one another.

They were now planning to overrun the said apartments at the same time.

Jeremy lifted his hand, signalling that two men had entered the living room, leaving one in the hallway and two in the other apartment. Ryan stood by the window with Jeremy, the mercenary now holding the gun Gavin had been given earlier as Michael and the Brit were loosening the boards on the window. They were doing this as meticulously as they could in their attempt to not alert the rest of the Pargas on the outside, having already managed to get rid of the glass panels that had been barely attached to the windowsills.

They didn’t have any explosives, everything left over having blown up alongside with the van, and they trusted the distraction outside to give them just enough time to force their way through the blanks before the men heading for them could pull themselves together.

All they could do for now was to work on lessening the blow.

_“What the fuck is -?”_

The words were muffled, coming from the outside.

Michael and Gavin automatically pulled away from the window at hearing the voices, Ryan grouching down by the wall as he expected a force capable of knocking him down to hit them soon.

“Here we go, guys”, Jeremy whispered, also in a grouch and preparing to make a run for it with Ryan.

There was the sound of glass breaking somewhere outside, accompanied by the confused voices of the Pargas. Michael frowned and glanced at Gavin whose brow furrowed as he listened intently to Matt who was having trouble speaking through his laugh: _‘Oh, I am so pleased with myself right now, you have no idea…!’_

_“Huh? What the…? What’s going on, did the AH already -!?”_

The Pargas on the other room also registered the cursing from the outside and immediately lost their calm demeanor. They appeared to try to make contact with the rest of their crew as they began to take hurried steps towards the windows of the living room to see what was happening outside.

Loud was an underestimation.

Jeremy and Ryan clung onto one another as Michael and Gavin stumbled at the blast that managed to shake the building to its core. There was a scream from the outside, the Pargas' truck apparently having exploded from the first hit and those having stood near it being blown to smithereens.

Gavin could still hear Matt’s manic laughter through the static of his headphones as the man barely managed to order the Brit to hurry up.

Gavin hit Michael on the arm and the other nodded his head violently, getting back on his feet and steadying himself. They made a coordinated jump towards the boarded window, their arms covered in heavy layers of fabric.

The boards, loosened by age and their earlier efforts, let down easily enough without them having to break their bones any further in their attempt to rush through.

Ryan held out the gun so that Michael could take it as Gavin launched himself through the window first, Michael hurriedly keeping cover before following after. Jeremy then helped Ryan up and on the other side before going through as well, Gavin taking a hold of the mercenary while Michael and Jeremy took the sides and led them away from the chaos around them that they had no time to properly take in.

All they noted was that one member of the Pargas was up in flames, running around and screaming. Ryan also saw a severed leg along with other bits and pieces as they ran by the walls to the right and then across the road.

“Not exactly what I imagined!” Gavin yelled, adrenaline pumping through his veins and his ears still ringing what with Matt’s gleefully loud voice filling them.

 _‘You thought we’d be playing nice?’_ Matt asked as one of the AH’s somewhat bullet proof cars curved onward from the end of the street.

There was an explosion behind them, the Pargas on the inside of the building having not been as slow to take action as their, now mostly dead, counterparts on the outside.

Gavin cursed and tripped Ryan to get him to quickly fall on the ground with him, there being no cover for them to take – all they could do was to make themselves as small of a target as possible.

The five Pargas members rushed out through the blown open window and yelled, beginning to take wild shots that Michael and Jeremy returned, strategically pulling away from one another before crouching down so that all of the Pargas' shots weren’t aimed at the same spot.

The approaching car’s wheels screamed as it went to pull in between the Pargas and the escaping members of AH. The passenger door was pushed open by Matt who then jumped back to make room for Michael to scramble in, Jeremy reaching out for Gavin and helping him drag Ryan up and towards the vehicle.

The car, not being too badly affected by the bullets hitting it, lurched forward before speeding down the road.

“You alright back there?” the voice of Mica called from the driver’s seat as the crew took in a shared deep breath.

The whole incident, from the appearance of the Pargas' truck and the explosion of the van all the way to the crew's escape, was over in less than thirty minutes. 

“Yeah, uh… Surprisingly alright. That… That sure was something”, Jeremy said with a smile as he helped Ryan to settle down on the seat next to him more comfortably, the mercenary being preoccupied with cradling his mistreated arm.

“Y-you know… If I had known this to be a common state when working for you, I would have reconsidered my offer to join”, Ryan mumbled, finally clearing his head enough to take in the situation. He couldn't help the feelings of déjà-vu when thinking back to some of his earlier experiences with the crew. "Explosions seem to be the norm around here..."

Ryan then whipped his head around as he caught sight of a car speeding up to their side.

Ryan tensed, automatically leaning down and reaching out for a weapon of any kind. He cursed their luck but, to his surprise, Michael was the one to defuse the situation by beginning to laugh first, shaking his head fondly.

"Right… Of course he'd be around for this bullshit. Gonna be making fun of us for a long time…"

"We had to use whatever help was close by", Matt pointed out with a smile. "But yes, you'll hear from this, I'm sure."

The second car sped up to pull up to their right and as its driver's side window rolled down the crew was met with a white-masked figure saluting them before taking a turn to another direction.

In defeat, Ryan flopped back in his seat.

“Aww, you don’t mean that”, Gavin said with a chuckle, answering Ryan's earlier statement about regretting his choice to stay as if nothing had happened. Gavin then turned to take a closer look at the screens Matt was turning over for him, Fake AH watching through the footage as the Pargas' two leftover trucks were only just reaching the remains of the rest of their team.

Ryan huffed, trying to hold back a laugh of his own at the way even Michael seemed to immediately relax in his seat as he picked up his phone again and began a casual conversation with Lindsay about what they should eat later.

Jeremy sighed before he turned back to Ryan and began to check his arm, helping Ryan rid his jacket.

“I lost my hat when the van blew up…” Jeremy said dramatically and Ryan bit his lip to remain from making a comment at that or to not pointlessly whine about the pull at his arm. 

“As per usual”, Matt stated, a satisfied grin still stuck on his face at the show he had been able to put up for the Pargas. “You already know you won’t be able to keep them for long, shouldn’t keep getting disappointed by it.”

“I just… It’s my signature, you know?”

“Get a better one, then”, Mica said with a laugh which then led to the three of them arguing over the most recognizable quirks each crew and their members had in Los Santos. They quickly moved on to discuss the very destructive plan Lindsay and Matt had been able to pull together in ten or so minutes with very little resources they had at hand and close by, the others in the car also joining in on the discussion.

Ryan leaned back on his seat and closed his eyes as Jeremy worked to bandage his arm, barely listening to the conversation as the Fake AH joked on about the events that had only take place mere moments ago. There was something way too enjoyable about the situation, making Ryan almost forget his newly gained injuries that Jeremy ensured him to be nothing serious.

Gavin had been right, unknowingly so - Ryan did not regret joining the crew although he was well aware that he should. He frowned at the thought, once again glad that the mask covered all of the confused emotions crossing over his tired face.

He was fucked and as good as dead, at least that much Ryan knew for certain.

 

* * *

 

_“The beauty of payback, right…? It was a perfectly good van they destroyed!”_

 


	7. Not easy being dead

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ryan begins to crumble and a lot happens behind the scenes, what with some murders being planned. It’s all getting pretty damn personal.

There had been plenty of debriefings after the Pargas’ attack and the number of people now monitoring the contacts on the Con’s hypothetical list was high. Surprisingly or not, it didn't take too long for someone in the B-team to find something that made the situation more than just a little more complicated while following each of the names in comparison to the other crews allegedly involved with the Con.

Geoff sighed, not liking any of the possible outcomes to their current circumstances.

“I warned the others already without telling them the details… But I feel you might have the most insight on this”, Geoff said, making Gavin nod as he already knew what their meeting was about. After all, Gavin had been the one to who the news had first been told to, being in charge of contacting the tech-team in their discoveries regarding the Con.

“…You know what you need to do next –“

“Yes, and I also know there’s more you want to say than that. Nevertheless, all I'm going to ask is: how do you think I should approach him?” Geoff stated, the question meant to leave no room for Gavin to improvise. Of course it could never be that easy.

Gavin stared at him for a moment, Geoff’s glare not faltering an inch. Gavin didn't mind the look he was receiving, knowing it wasn't exactly being pointed at him to begin with. “I think… You might want to give him some more space. A moment to –“

“A moment!” Geoff cried out, looking at Gavin in barely contained anger. “He’s had his moment! You almost died, _all of you_ , and there’s been enough time since then for him to start talking! And you said I’m the one being brainwashed here – clearly he’s good at that!”

Gavin frowned.

It was easy to tell Geoff was worried for the crew's sake, barely holding himself back from chasing Ryan out of the penthouse. But what mattered the most was that he was holding back at all, just like they all were.

Ryan was easy to like. And there had to be something more to what was happening here.

“Exactly, he almost died too and… I’m just saying, it seems to me like he really does want to talk to you”, Gavin said, the words followed by a heavy sigh of his own. “He looks worried.”

“Ryan wears a mask – _a mask_. How could you tell what he’s feeling!”

Gavin sputtered at that, looking away. “We talk, okay? I know he’s been meaning to come see you but he’s a bit confused about what’s happening here! We all are!”

“And that’s why we need all the details to work with to figure it out –! “

“Ryan’s not a part of the crew!” Gavin yelled, stopping Geoff on his tracks. “He knows that! Whatever he has to say, I think he doesn’t want to be thrown out for it.”

Geoff scoffed, relaxing in his stance ever so slightly as he did. “Yeah, well. If there’s a solid reason to kick him out to protect us, I’ll be happy to do it. Ryan knows that too! Exactly why he’d feel the need to hide it from us, whatever it is.”

“But I really don’t think that’s the reason he didn’t tell you.”

Geoff lifted a brow. “Then what? Why else would he be doing this?”

Gavin looked away, another sigh escaping him. “I don’t think he’s hiding it because he’s not on our side… Instead, I think it's because he doesn’t want us to turn against him for it. He really does need our help, with the Con.”

“We’re criminals, all of us – I killed someone for the first time when I was twelve for fuck’s sake! What could he possibly have to hide that would be so bad? He’s the fucking _Vagabond_!”

A moment of silence followed, Geoff looking at Gavin as if challenging him.

“His face, to start with”, Gavin said then, catching Geoff by surprise, “I'm pretty sure it’s got something to do with that.”

 

* * *

 

“So…”

“Yeah?”

“Roger.”

“Oh.”

Ryan turned in his seat, taking a closer look at Geoff standing in the doorway.

From the corner of his eye he could see Gavin tilt his head and Ryan knew immediately that the Brit had something to do with Geoff walking in to the tech-room in the first place. The debriefings after the Pargas’ attack, and the Con’s apparent first direct move against the Fakes, had caused the crew’s spirits to grow tense.

But there was more to the tired look on Geoff's face.

“What do you need to know? And why now, may I ask?” Ryan asked, knowing full well why but wanting to play the scene by the book. The script might have been re-written for him, but he couldn't afford to lose his stance.

Not now. Not yet.

“Having seen the Con’s list and _finally_ ”, Geoff gave Gavin a brief glare, again not pointed at him but at the whole situation at hand, “comparing it to the files we got from Roger after your appearance… Apparently, he had a lot more to do with everything than we thought. And so do you… Allegedly.”

Ryan relaxed further in his seat, not allowing his body to tense an inch. He had been waiting for more inquiries as the days passed with no-one having anything new to offer on the subject. With Geoff not pleased with the Pargas’ sudden involvement that had almost managed to cost the crew big time, Ryan knew better than to turn his gaze away from the man. It was about time he gave them more reasons to keep him around.

The mercenary was well aware that he needed more time –

“Roger… Okay, yes: As you know, Roger was stealing weapon shipments and money. But he also forwarded some on the Con’s behalf. Tracking the equipment the Con’s given to the crews in Los Santos isn’t easy, but at least it’s obvious that all of it has to come from somewhere and it sure as hell isn't through the legal means.

“The Rangers were the only crew sloppy enough with their timing for me to identify as being in collaboration with the Con. But, as it turned out during our _encounter_ , Roger was just as unaware of everything as any other homeless guy working for them… Figures.”

There was a brief silence, Geoff mulling over the details as his frown deepened. “That’s all fine and well but doesn’t give any reason for you to not tell us sooner…”

There was a warning in Geoff’s voice and Ryan noted it with appreciation. Finally a sentiment he could understand, giving him something new to work with.

“I understand you have your own, personal reasons for everything you’re doing here - I believe you on everything you've told us about it so far. But you’re not… You’re not a part of this crew, and we’ve given you way more freedom than we ever should to anyone, and especially not to someone of your status”, Geoff continued slowly, hating the truth in his words and glancing at Gavin who had held his position by the computer with his painfully failed attempt at pretending to not hear a word said right by him.

Geoff shook his head tiredly. “But. The Con has stepped over a line. We don’t have time to play by their, or your, rules. I need to understand what is happening here and what we’re up against. And I need to know whether or not to shoot you where you are - if that means keeping my crew alive.”

“I know”, Ryan answered a little too quickly with his words jumbled, letting out a ragged breath as he got up from his seat.

Ryan took a short step closer to the doorway, to face Geoff whose fingers had immediately reached for his weapon at the mercenary’s sudden movement. The reflex had been involuntary on Geoff’s part as he truly had no plans to treat the Vagabond as his enemy, not yet. Ryan could clearly see this much.

It was time to go for the second act, Ryan thought with a small smile hidden under his mask. He prepared himself by taking a deep breath, then speaking:

“I… I’m well aware, I mean. And you know I’ve been stalling since the start but… For some reason, I don’t know why, you still let me stay here. I’m not especially good with, uh… any of _this_. And it’s true I feel like I have a lot riding on capturing the Con, but having seen your crew, having been a part of it as someone you have _no fucking reason to trust,_ I now... I-I know now…”

Ryan sighed and shook his head, meticulously slowing down his breathing after his outburst. Only once he had calmed down did he look at Geoff with his gaze steady.

The leader of the crew seemed more than a little confused at the shift taking place, and Ryan also noted Gavin dropping his own cover as he turned around in his seat to stare up at him in question.

“What I have to lose is what’s left of my life, and it’s nothing compared to what you have here”, Ryan finally spat out, his fists clenching as he turned his head to look away from the two. “You’re right, you need to know what you’re fighting against. I will… I will tell you everything.”

 

* * *

 

The funny thing was that Ryan didn’t even have to lie, not really: He actually could have been honest from the very start if he had so chosen to. It’s not like he had wanted to lie anyway, realizing little by little that all he found himself wishing for was a chance to trust this crew the way they trusted him back.

“The last time I properly worked in Los Santos was almost two years ago. You should know that as the first time I made an appearance with the name I now have. But what you don’t know is that I already worked in the business before that… Just without an actual _vivid image_ to go along with what I did. I had always been crafty with my ‘usage of available materials’… But two years ago was when I stopped being, well, careful about not letting it show. That’s when I stopped being just a shadow of a killer for hire, and truly became the Vagabond.”

The main five of the Fake AH Crew had been called to the meeting room by Geoff, following Ryan’s outburst and his apparent determination to share the information he had with all of them as soon as possible. Now they sat around the table in confused concentration as the unlikely mercenary spoke, his palms heavily pressed against the table as he stared down to it and not daring to look around the room and face the others.

“I wouldn’t have done that if it wasn’t… personal. Killing and intimating is something I’ve enjoyed doing for a long time now and, I’ll be the first to admit, it hasn’t always been just out of necessity. But when I was hired, I was always paid enough for my services. I didn’t need the rumours to increase my income. I only needed the name Vagabond to reach specific people.”

“Like you came in contact with us? We already knew about you, of course, and seeing you… in person, at Roger’s… You said you would have tried to contact us anyway but we did it for you, because of your infamy”, Geoff stated, mostly just thinking out loud as he pieced it all together.

Ryan nodded. “In my case… I was after the Con from the start.”

Gavin frowned and fiddled with his sleeve uncomfortably, something disturbingly poetic in the implication. “You built yourself the reputation of a ruthless killer to catch the Con?”

“Yes.”

“Then you really must have history with them. And two years ago, already? The Con made their first appearance in our radar less than a year ago…” Jack pondered, carefully keeping an eye on Ryan who seemed increasingly fidgety in his spotlight.

“Yes, well… Before the Con, there was another group. They didn’t have a name yet but they were just as careful as the Con is now. I was hired to kill one of their members, and that's as close to 'working with them' as I ever got...”

“Did you succeed?” Geoff asked and Ryan let out a hollow laugh.

“Oh yes! I certainly did! The issue is, they did not care…”

“Huh…”

The room grew quiet, Fake AH not quite keeping up with Ryan’s solemn tone. Through it, Ryan kept his gaze carefully on the table – the next few lines would matter the most.

“I was hired to kill the next one and I succeeded again. The pay was good and I did not really care who these people were and what they had done to piss off my client, all I knew was that the kills were easy and the targets shady enough… Back then, I still had my name.”

“But you just said –“

“Not Vagabond – _Ryan",_ Ryan hissed and turned to look at Gavin. “The Con, or the pre-form of them anyway, they… They did not care, they did not react! Their men were dying and they kept their cool, never blowing their cover. I thought I was hunting them, but instead they were the ones studying me… And they found me, in the end.”

Gavin remembered everything Ryan had told him as they had worked together, speaking up carefully: “You said… The Con is vicious, they can wait for years before coming after us with all they have to make us suffer… Just because they can. And they did that to you? How?”

Ryan had promised to tell them everything, there was nothing wrong with asking.

“They killed me. Everything I was and everyone I loved, destroyed by Ryan Haywood."

The room stilled, all of the Fakes tensing at hearing the name. Ryan couldn't help but to chuckle at the reaction he had grown to expect.

“I see you know me well… Everyone searching for the name will find a killer, after all. And I suppose…” Ryan mumbled, slowly lifting his hands to the edges of his mask that the crew had come to accept as his face, most already long forgetting that there was another one underneath it still:

“I suppose there’s no point to me wearing this anymore.”

 

* * *

 

The meeting concluded with Geoff asking everyone else to leave the room, him and Ryan remaining behind to clear their views. The four other Fakes stood outside once the door had been closed, looking at each other with mixed emotions.

“He’s good looking, actually”, Jack broke the silence, making Jeremy jump and stare at her in horror.

“Sure is… But I was still expecting some scars”, Michael contributed, crossing his arms over his chest. “Kind of disappointing, really.”

“Don’t say that!” Jeremy grimaced, glancing back at the door. “What’s even happening here anymore?! He’s…”

Jeremy looked at Gavin, begging for help to find the right words to continue, but the other only shrugged numbly before speaking: “He’s had it rough…”

“We all have!” Jeremy exclaimed. “I’d just really like to know how to stop the Con from fucking us all up! You’ve seen the reports from that mas–!”

“Ryan said he’s spent the last two years trying to track the Con down, finding anyone who’d share his hatred for them… And he still had to settle with us to hunt them down with? Seriously, talk about being careful if they've made no other enemies. Ryan's right, we didn’t have any reason to go after them, not really, not before the Pargas’ attack… Whatever’s next, it can’t go well”, Michael growled.

“Exactly”, Gavin said in resignation. “If Roger was the only weak link here… What can we do now?”

“Be careful. And…” Jack said, her hands on her hips as she went to walk away. “As always, continue to keep an eye on Ryan.”

 

* * *

 

Gavin sat in front of his computer, not registering anything happening on the screens as his thoughts ran back to Ryan and the story he had shared with the crew. He had been right about what he had said to Geoff earlier, Ryan was terrified of being recognized as who he was behind the mask.

Ryan Haywood was more than a wanted criminal, having slaughtered his family and their next door neighbours with no remorse and in the most disturbing of ways.

Briefly, Gavin felt thankful he hadn’t remembered any of this on the night he had first met Ryan. Bringing up the name behind the world-famous massacre when naming horror-movie monsters of their time could have been disastrous, the name "Ryan" painted deep red in Gavin's mind now that the connection was made.

If earlier Gavin had been bothered by the idea of a tiny knife lodged in Roger’s gut, the images he had seen when looking up the case the mercenary had spoken of were quick to wipe it all away. The fruit knife was replaced by the most creative of instruments, starting casually with a fire poker, an electric cord,  _a bloody plastic coaster of all things_ –

The reports from the crime scenes only got worse from there. The Vagabond's methods were hardly even comparable, as graphic as they were.

Gavin could remember seeing it all in the news, the case discussed across the entire country and even beyond its borders. That picture of Ryan, also one burned into everyone’s minds, had been everywhere.

Ryan had never been caught. Instead, as the Fakes now found out, he had truly taken to the name of the Vagabond and the skull mask of a dead man.

But Ryan said he hadn’t killed his family. The Con had.

_“You didn’t have a reason to go after them, not the way I do… Gavin, you said that to me before, remember? I_ _realized, even before I came to join you, that there was no reason for you to believe anything I had to say. The Con hadn’t made a move, barely left a mark on anything in this city... Why would they go that far to frame me for anything?"_

_“So… While you might be okay with the Vagabond as a part of your crew, Haywood is another story entirely. He truly is a monster”,_ Ryan had said, his voice having gone more and more quiet with each passing word. Everything he had had to say to them made sense, to Gavin at least. And they were the ones who had chosen to let him in, taking the short answers Ryan had given earlier and accepted that the rest was his to keep to himself.

Geoff had seemed to agree with Gavin, the others staring at Ryan’s face in bewilderment as they immediately saw him as the man media had served to them on a silver platter – and still did, at every possible occasion and anniversary.

Ryan could never show his face anywhere.

“Hey…”

Gavin was snapped from his thoughts, turning around wide eyed to look up at Ryan who had appeared by the door. He wasn’t wearing the mask anymore, not the one made of plastic nor of any act of confidence. His eyes, still surrounded by some residue of the face-paint he used to fill in the holes on the mask, were downcast and he seemed to be careful not to invade Gavin’s space in any way.

Gavin frowned at first but was quick to turn his expression into a smile.

“Hey! How did it go with Geoff?” Gavin asked, turning back to his screens to give the mercenary space instead.

Ryan watched him silently for a second before stepping forward and going for his computer located by Gavin’s side. “Well enough, I guess… I apologized for a few things, explained why I didn’t tell you about Roger’s involvement any sooner…”

“Right”, Gavin hummed thoughtfully, turning to Ryan and trying his hardest not to show how odd it was to talk to him like this, face to face for the first time. “Why didn’t you?”

“Ah…” Ryan appeared tired, but he had a small and overly ashamed smile on his lips. Gavin immediately replaced the mental image left from seeing his photo on the news with this new look.

“It’s idiotic _…_ I didn’t plan on you being at the Rangers’ lair on the night of my _…_ _visit._  And I hadn’t yet decided how to contact you either. But when you saw me kill him, and after Geoff arranged the meeting with me instead… Well, you were my best option to find the Con, I realized. But we really didn’t have much intel to work with, so I had the brilliant idea of:  _'if I don’t tell the Fakes about Roger, it will allow me to focus on that lead while the rest of them look into everything else'_.”

Gavin stared at him in disbelief, Ryan carefully glancing at him now.

“Really…? You were testing us, seeing if I’d even be able to find the connection in the first place?”

It was Ryan’s time to frown, defensive. “I didn’t say that! I just, I wanted to spread our resourced –!”

“Either way, you really are an idiot”, Gavin interrupted him, shaking his head in overplayed disappointment. It was enough to make Ryan look away in embarrassment.

“Well, it did take you long enough to realize all that!”

A beat of silence and Gavin broke into a grin.

“That you’re an idiot?” Gavin questioned, making Ryan turn to him in surprise. The Brit squeaked and then began to laugh at the shocked expression on the mercenary’s face, Ryan opening and closing his mouth uselessly.

“N-no, I mean  _I am_ , but I meant -”, Ryan began but broke down almost immediately, unable to not join Gavin in laughing at how messed up their situation truly was.

It was a relief, yet still piercing at Ryan – how did he end up here.

“It did take you long enough to realize there was more to Roger, and it was way too late for me to say anything by then! So, if I’m the idiot, then you are the ones who –“

“No”, Gavin huffed and calmed himself down. “You’re wrong. Partially.”

“Wrong? What am I wrong about?” Ryan tilted his head in confusion, almost comically so now that he no longer would have needed to overdo his movements without the mask in the way, noticing there was actual weight to Gavin’s statement.

“It’s been a few days since we found out about you and Roger’s involvement with the Con”, Gavin answered carefully, still smiling. “I told Geoff immediately but he asked for my opinion on what to do. So…”

“Y-you told him to wait?!" Ryan’s eyes widened and he let out a silent gasp. “Why?!”

“Why what?” Gavin asked innocently, Ryan looking like he was about to shatter underneath the weight of the other's words.

“You haven’t treated me any different, _no-one here has_ , even if you thought I was –“

“We didn’t think anything, and only Geoff and I knew all of the details. But yeah, Geoff asked me what he should do about this and I told him to wait. If you were planning to kill us, or damage us in some way, I’m pretty sure you would have done it by now. And since we now had the little information there was on Roger, we were able to continue our, _futile,_  search on that end even without your input. So…”

Ryan swallowed, shaking his head in disbelief. “I don’t –“

“I was hoping you’d talk to Geoff first like you implied you wanted to, would have really helped my case”, Gavin said with a chuckle, interrupting Ryan once more.

“I was planning to…” Ryan mumbled, both ashamed and touched as he turned back to his computer.

Gavin watched him curiously. “I know. Doesn’t really matter anymore. We’re good?”

Ryan nodded, what else could he have done.

 

* * *

 

That evening, Ryan was left alone with his thoughts as he stared at the security footage he had swiped from Gavin. He tried to make sense to what he was supposed to do next, but the uncertainty felt like it was strangling him.

Ryan knew he was supposed to feel angrier than he did about the circumstances. He had let them know he needed more time, tried his best to make it seem necessary, but the way the Pargas attack had played out, _and now this_ , made it clear that his standing on the matter was no longer being trusted.

Ryan hadn’t been the one to make the first move.

And even when aware of that, Ryan continued to stall as he tried to decide how to carry on from here. He was effectively stuck between two forces that wanted two very different things from him, and for him.

 

* * *

 

_“I can’t let them do this… Can I?”_

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I now have my shit together and the "action-packed ending" is finally here… Let's finish this thing!  
> \--  
> Note: Tags for Graphic Violence and Torture should begin to apply for the last chapters. Some scenes I have toned down from the original plans, but there's still something.


	8. It was a murder

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Con had figured it out, long before even Ryan himself did. Their decision made, the only course of action left for him is to… do what, exactly?

Two days ago, the Fake AH Crew had listened to Ryan Haywood’s first set of confessions. The day after, he didn’t make an appearance at the penthouse.

Both Geoff and Gavin tried to contact him, but Ryan didn’t answer any of their calls. The first few times he had glanced at his phone as it buzzed but, in an attempt to not be distracted or traced by any of the parties involved, he instead got rid of it entirely. Once that was done, he relocated himself to spend his days standing by an alley to survey the scene.

Two days ago, after talking with Gavin and realizing just how much trust the Fakes truly put into him even without him deserving it in the least, Ryan had taken a look at one of the open tabs on Gavin’s computer. On it, he had seen some of the security footage from earlier in the day, showing a recording from close to the penthouse.

Ryan was skilled. He had done his own surveillance of the area and knew immediately that the footage he had then copied from Gavin behind his back was taken by the road the lads often took to get from their favorite food joint back to the penthouse. The route itself was nothing special, but what Ryan was able to pinpoint after studying it further was plenty enough. It didn't take long to come to a realization:

The Con truly was done waiting for him, and the way the Pargas-attack had played out wasn't an accident. They clearly hadn't believed him when he had attempted to explain the delays.

One last time, Ryan tried to rationalize the arrangement he had with the Con: the pay was great, the “heartbreak” healthy, and the opportunity to truly free his more unique talents he had always considered to be a blessing. He remembered his family, hated them even as he recalled the way the Con had, in every sense of the word, ripped them apart in his name.

Ryan owed the Con his life, maybe not in the most traditional of senses but still. They had freed him to be the monster he had wanted to be, inviting him to play the role of a lifetime - again and again - for the most interesting of results.

But then the Fakes had come along, the Fakes had taken it too far and fucked it all up for him, Ryan repeated in his mind as he tapped a finger restlessly against the driver’s wheel, racing down the streets with the man in his trunk. It had been difficult to pretend like nothing had changed after the Pargas-attack, when the Con had begun to question and test out his resolve. 

The Fake AH Crew had accepted him, unlike the other crews he had infiltrated they had taken him in as a person who existed beyond the mask and his bloodier interests. Although they shared his love for carnage too, just not as visibly as Ryan did.

It’s all Gavin’s fault, Ryan thought. Unknowingly to even himself, Gavin seemed to have been the one he had put all of his faith in. As long as Gavin acted like he was nothing more than what the Vagabond’s image dictated –

The Fakes had accepted him as the monster he wanted to be, yet still capable of seeing him as something more than that and making him forget all about what he was supposed to be doing as he had focused too much at simply getting along with them. And then Gavin had saved his life while covering him with his own, casing Ryan to begin to realize just what he had been wrong about for the past two years he had been following the Con’s orders.

The Con might have killed the people who had raised him, but the group didn’t understand the strength behind the concept itself. The “family games” of the Fakes, an infamous criminal organization Ryan knew to be happily capable of even his levels of cruelty if properly prompted, are what made them unbeatable.

Or rather, Ryan frowned as he thought it through once more, the Con had had the right idea from the start to ruin the crew from within.

Turning their strength into a weakness, to break Geoff apart by taking away his family with the hands of someone he himself had ordered them all to trust, would work perfectly.

 

* * *

 

There were many ways Ryan’s next move could have gone.

As going against the Con directly wasn't an option, Ryan could have still focused on the job at hand and proven them wrong by wiping out the Fakes as he had been originally ordered to do. He could have taken the second chance he was offered, contacting his bosses before it was too late.

It would have been easy to come up with some genius plan that the Con would be eager to try out to mess with Geoff even further, but this time Ryan would have to do it fast enough to avoid any further distrust by the the Con. With their forgiveness gained, Ryan could then have moved on to the next assignment far away from Los Santos, never checking in to see how Geoff faced the loss in the situation Ryan had put him in.

The mercenary could have just left all of this behind and continued doing what he did best. He could have forgotten all about the conflict between the Con and the Fa–

Fuck that.

The reasoning behind Ryan’s thought process was less than solid, but one fact remained as its base: He was no longer interested in playing along with the Con’s concept of freedom and repetition, and it would be way more fun to see how they reacted when the tables were turned on them for good. And so, after spending the night arguing with himself, he had made himself a new mission to change the only thing he could have any effect on, telling himself that this had nothing to do with his pride.

Ryan was going to kill the son of a bitch attempting toreplace him before he could get to any of the Fakes on the Vagabond’s behalf.

 

* * *

 

Ethan Hill.

Ryan had easily found his target, recognizing the man’s signature moves from an earlier job involving him. That time the Vagabond had been hired to steal one of Ethan’s targets and there was no way that was a coincidence. It was obviously intended as an insult, the Con hiring someone both they and Ryan knew to be nothing compared to him to take his kill from him instead.

They knew Ryan would notice, and they knew he couldn’t let it pass. By either following his pride or his devotion to the organization, the Con had forced him to make his move.

And Ethan had clearly been given a specific target of his own. Having followed his movements, Ryan spotted him only having his eyes set on the Fakes’ hacker.

Gavin Free, still the brunt of Ryan’s problems.

The Fakes didn’t realize it, the assassin good enough to keep out of view of anyone who might be watching now that their security measures were heightened after the Pargas-scare. The only reason Ryan had been aware of Hill was his familiarity with the man’s profile from years ago, and it still took him a while to catch up to him.

By using the said profile to his advantage, Ryan had stood in the alley and waited for Ethan's arrival. There was no way the assassin could have been aware of Ryan hunting him down, and Ryan had studied the Fakes well enough to know how to stay out of their radar as well.

Two days after seeing the footage of Ethan’s shadow tailing Gavin, Ryan bashed the man's skull in. Then, when he realized the assassin was still alive, he dragged the unconscious body to the trunk of his car.

His mind a mess, Ryan headed for yet another abandoned building in the very edges of Los Santos.

 

* * *

 

“Hello, Ethan _…_ It’s been a while.”

Ethan blinked, his breathing unsteady as he tried to focus on his surroundings.

Ryan felt calm in knowing exactly what would be coming next. It was always the same, excluding the few exhilarating surprises you something faced in the business the two of them shared.

Ethan wouldn’t be one of them though, and the familiarity worked well for him. All Ryan needed today was to blow off some steam.

“W-wha–“

“I’d like you to wake up now, I don’t have the whole day”, Ryan said with a sigh. “I have bigger problems than playing around with… Hm.”

Ryan’s sentence rolled to a stop and he tilted his head as Ethan’s eyes finally grew wide in realization.

“O-oh fuck, not _you_ –!“

“Not quite, no.” Ryan stood up and reached for the edges of his mask. “The Vagabond won’t be joining us tonight, sorry about that.”

Ethan gulped in confusion at his words, trying to clear his head to rebuild his confidence. This wasn’t the first time he had been caught, he had worked in the field for long enough to have at least that much experience - Ryan could respect that, no matter how hard of a time he was having in controlling his dislike towards the man in front of him.

Ryan pulled the mask off and shook his head slightly to free the long strands of hair sticking to his face after the days of tracking Ethan down. The clinging smell of plastic he was used to, just as he was to the look of actual recognition and shock taking over his prey’s already terrified features. It was always exhilarating to remember it wasn't the mask, the Vagabond, people from this city were the most afraid of.

The Vagabond was only doing his job after all, but for Ryan Haywood the theatrics of a kill were something else entirely:

“Hello, Ethan.”

 

* * *

 

Ryan hummed as he cleaned the instrument in his hand.

If there was something he excelled at, it was blocking out the pointless noise around him. It was a good skill to have at times like these, to make the people involved well aware how little they meant to you as you couldn’t even hear their screams.

Ethan knew from the start that he wasn’t going to make it out alive. Knowing something might not make it much easier to handle, but Ryan had to appreciate the effort the other was making to control his breathing and act calm.

"Just remember: the only reason I'm doing something as pathetic as _this_ ”, Ryan waved the blade loosely in his fingers before pressing it back against Ethan's skin, "is because this is just as lazy as you've always been with your work. You know you deserve exactly what's coming, even if you never go - excuse me, _never went_ \- this far with your own targets." 

Ethan screamed with less energy than before, barely feeling the thin, ice-pick like blade Ryan slowly pressed through his skin and flesh, expertly avoiding the bone.

“Hm, the only thing I have actually come to respect about you, here today, is how you didn’t even try to beg for your life like I expected you would…” Ryan hummed, pulling out the pick after it had cleanly pierced through Ethan’s bicep, patting the man’s head in false comfort. “Good job, Ethan!”

“Dhoe… D-doesn’t… W-why...?”

Ryan cleaned the pick meticulously once again, waiting for Ethan to catch his breath before inflicting the next wound. “Why are you here?” he asked after a moment of silence, filling in the blanks of Ethan's slurred speech when the man proved unable to do so himself.

Ryan didn’t go forth with an answer to the question, simply waiting for Ethan to give in and nod first as a confirmation. Although knowing he was going to die, he was still desperate to know why. As most people did on their final moments, he was seeking for a conclusion.

Conclusions are rarely as fulfilling as one would hope.

“Oh, well… What goes around comes around: you were about to steal my target! But I don’t exactly care for you and planned to have you dead back in the alley, only missed the shot a bit I guess… And honestly? You’re here just because I have no idea what else I should be doing”, Ryan admitted and studied Ethan’s contorting face. “Sorry, sorry! I know… It’s not what you’d want to hear, dying this way simply because I have nothing else to work with.”

Ethan coughed, eyeing Ryan tiredly while the blood dripped from the corner of his mouth. “Thotrure?”

“Why am I putting so much effort into torturing you if I have no questions to ask?”

Another belated nod later, Ryan chuckled in embarrassment. “That’s a little more personal… I am well aware that you have no information to offer me, you simply pissed me off with your plans when I took the time to glance them through.”

Ryan tipped his chin towards the tablet Ethan had had with him, thinking back on the surveillance Ethan had done on the Fakes and the plan for the actual kill. “I know the ones who hired you didn’t make those, and they certainly didn’t ask for any specifics. Not from the likes of you, anyway… Those plans are just a plain insult, to the both of us. Not to forget about Gavin.”

Ethan laughed for the first time then, the shock at the sudden flair of pain making his head and body shake violently. Ryan couldn’t help but to smile as he twisted the pick he had suddenly plunged through Ethan’s chest.

“I despise you and your lazy efforts… Exactly why I’m going as far as I am, although it's a shame you won't get to live long enough to learn your lesson.”

Even if Ryan’s anger was pointed mostly at himself even now, the idea of the Con taking down Gavin and the Fakes by using someone as talentless and disrespectful as Ethan Hill was more than just an insult - that’s it for pretending his pride wasn’t a factor here.

Ryan scoffed at the distracting thoughts and watched as Ethan could barely open his eyes as he turned to look at him, showing with effort just how pleased he was with himself over the reaction he managed to get out of Ryan. With nothing to lose, he intended to keep the last shreds of his dignity.

“Eashy _…_ m-money…”

Ryan shook his head in disappointment and clicked his tongue patronizingly.

“Easy, yes, I can _see_ why you'd think that", Ryan replied with his voice dripping with sarcasm. "You have no idea what you got yourself involved with, have you? The Fakes, sure, they’re a big name with plenty of bounties on their heads from all across the board… Many see them as easy targets, I'll be the first to admit I thought the same at a time… But the _Con_.”

Ryan tilted a brow and waited for Ethan’s reaction at the name. When there was nothing more than a slightly less certain grin on the man’s tired face, Ryan frowned.

“Nothing? Seriously? I was willing to give you one more chance to prove yourself, but no?”

“N-nope”, Ethan hiccuped and forced his grin to grow wider even if his eyes betrayed his confusion and fear. “I-I’vhe got nothing…”

Ryan sighed, not playing along with the final act of cockiness Ethan was attempting to pull off as he went on to break the man. He had nothing to lose either so there really was no reason for him to not have some more fun instead of succumbing to the more general feelings of anger he felt at the entire situation at hand.

“Okay. You deserve to get some answers, I suppose. The Con is the group I used to work for and they hired you to steal my kill, alright? Easy money for sure, all you have to do for it is to get killed _by me_ –”

Ethan was hired to die, to give Ryan a reason to think through his loyalties. 

The Con had made it personal, long before Ryan had even realized that’s what it was to him. Knowing that they had taken the right steps to make it as obvious as it could be, they had ignited his anger just to see how he’d reply to their challenge.

That was the Con’s style, as Ryan was so very well aware of after two years of helping them exploit those similar weaknesses in others.

 

* * *

 

Ryan began his efforts by getting rid of Ethan Hill, having him burn alive in the Con’s stead.

Once Ethan had stopped screaming for good, it had taken a while for Ryan’s grin to falter. He didn’t know for how long he stood there before he finally turned towards the back of the warehouse, sitting down on a pile of blanks.

There were no thoughts forming in his mind now and his body seemed to work on autopilot when he finally pulled out his burner phone. He couldn’t be certain that Ethan had been the only one the Con had approached and, even if he had been, Ryan was still stuck in the middle of an unbalanced war.

It really was personal and leaving was no longer an option, Ryan repeated the one fact that had led him here. And it wasn’t only because of his slaughtered family and the life he had been given by the Con.

This was no longer just about the Vagabond.

Ryan dropped the phone from his ear, finally registering what had happened as the words were done leaving his mouth. He stared at the phone in his hands in disbelief, his whole body trembling in anticipation he couldn’t remembered feeling for years. Not quite like this, anyway.

Ryan had done it, the most idiotic thing in his life – and thinking that was an achievement on its own. Blinking slowly, he pulled his gaze from the screen and put the phone back in his pocket.

The barrel was still flaming before his eyes.

He should have kept Ethan alive for long enough to have Geoff meet the man. Ryan could have used some proof of what he was trying to tell him.

And that's the problem: Ryan had called Geoff. He had told Geoff to come see him.

Ryan had given him the address and told him about the Con, _and Ethan_ , and the truth behind the Pargas-attack, and Geoff must be so angry with him, _of course he was angry_ , Ryan had left without saying a word –

And Ryan was an idiot for thinking that, here and now, because it was nothing compared to how furious Geoff must be with him admitting to _having fucking planned to kill everyone in the crew but Geoff himself -_

He knew Geoff would come with the rest of the Fakes to kill him instead, and all Ryan did in preparation for that was to sit there without making a move. He simply stared at the flames and listened to his own heavy breathing, reveling in the new reality he had found himself in. He was confused and his thoughts were turning into uncontrolled, childish cries without a hint of rationality.

Considering how they belonged to a lifelong killer, the contrast managed to make him smile. For some reason, he found himself quite liking the feeling.

He supposed he deserved this, just like Ethan had. Every choice Ryan had ever made, and the way he didn’t regret his actions even now, was proof enough of that much.

 

* * *

 

“Ryan…”

At hearing his name be spat out with such vehemence, Ryan flinched and stood up. He didn’t know how long had passed after the call he had made as he now slowly turned to face Geoff who stood in the doorway of the trashed and darkened hall.

Geoff briefly glanced between Ryan and the flaming barrel that was the only solid source of light they had in the wide, empty space.

“…Geoff, where are the –“

“You really think I’d bring the rest of the crew with me?”

Ryan stared at him blankly. “Yes?”

“Yeah, well, I should have. I didn’t. _Again_ ”, Geoff scoffed and took a few steps forward. “This is a mess. All of this.”

“I don’t under–“

“Fuck you, _Ryan_ ”, Geoff spat out angrily, passing Ryan’s spot in the room without sparing him another look, walking straight to the barrel of Ethan. “Fuck. You.”

“Okay…” Ryan frowned, still utterly confused and looking around. He was certain Geoff had brought at least someone with him, ready to shoot him down at any wrong movement. There was no way Geoff could be this –

“You’re the biggest fucking idiot I’ve ever met and I hate how difficult it is to just follow my own rules and shoot you where you stand!” Geoff suddenly yelled, glaring down at the barrel in front of him.

A stunned silence followed, Ryan glancing between the barrel and Geoff uselessly.

“Okay”, Ryan repeated carefully when he realized Geoff wasn’t going to be the one to start talking first. “I… I deserve that. And being shot, yes, that too. But I’d sure appreciate it if you didn’t –“

Ryan's words came to a halt as Geoff spun around to finally face him, still unarmed as he forced his stance to relax. He seemed to wait until he had Ryan’s full attention before asking:

“Ethan Hill, right?”

“Uh…”

“In the barrel.” Geoff tilted his head back at the flames. “Ethan Hill, the assassin hired by the Con to do your job for you.”

“Ah, yes. Ethan…” Ryan scratched the back of his neck uncomfortably. “Yes. I… I had to choose between either burying him or burning him alive… Although far less excruciating in the long run, I didn’t feel like wasting any more of my time on him so I went with the –”

“He was going to kill Gavin?” Geoff interrupted, waving his hand impatiently to redirect Ryan's rambling.

“…Yes. Ethan was going to take Gavin alive, and send him back with a bomb just for the fun of it to maybe catch whoever else also in the blast”, Ryan answered automatically. “Amateur plan. Way too complicated, and movie-based, in all the wrong ways. But it still would have worked well enough with the Fake AH's caring natur–“

Ryan fell silent again, biting his lip as he seemed to belatedly remember exactly who he was talking to. Geoff didn’t seem to mind how he had immediately fallen back into technicalities when given the chance, unfamiliar with how to handle the situation they were in with each other.

“He got what was coming for him”, Geoff growled, turning back towards the barrel with a burning gaze of his own. “Even less than he deserved…”

Ryan watched the flames reflect from Geoff’s eyes, barely holding back the manic grin immediately making its way back to his face at hearing the words. “Oh, he went through plenty”, Ryan said as Geoff turned to him with a brow raised. “Paid for the entirety of his lackluster career, don't you worry…”

“Good.”

The two of them stood there for a while, warmed by the flames as Geoff contemplated everything.

“You’re not our enemy.”

It was an unexpected statement, not intended as a question. Without his mask on, Ryan looked defeated and Geoff seemed to feel pretty much the same way.

“I'd like to think I'm not... Not anymore?”

From the start, Geoff had done his best not to offend Ryan by letting his anger at the Con flare on his face. A part of Ryan hated him for it, once again reminded how unprepared he was to deal with whatever was happening here. If Geoff had attacked him instead, he could have easily accepted that. He could deal with anger and distrust, but the Fakes had never given him the chance to do so with even Michael dropping those emotions to invite him along to participate in their easygoing pastimes.

Nothing seemed to have changed, even now: with Hill dead and Ryan's betrayal out in the open.

“But your plan was to kill us?”

“The others, yes – the Con wanted you alive.”

Geoff balled his hands into fists and took a step closer, the blood covering Ryan's front and the stench of burned skin and bone not bothering him in the least. “Why?”

Ryan shrugged. “To see what you’d do, probably.”

“Who the fuck are they: what do they want from us?”

“…I honestly don’t know. But I don’t think they want anything specific, just to have their fun and see how you will react”, Ryan answered as truthfully as he could.

“And that doesn’t bother you? You just work for them blindly, being their lapdog while –”

“I had no reason to care!” Ryan exclaimed suddenly, surprising even himself and a tad too loud even to his own ears to pretend he truly believed in the words he had said. He had no practice in being directly questioned about the Con, making him unable to not defend himself even now. “I got what I wanted and didn’t give a shit who I was hurting to get it! And the Con, they made it interesting. They –!”

“They actually do treat you like a dog. _Fuck_.” Geoff let out painfully hollow and loud laugh. “What changed, then? Why is my crew still alive?”

Ryan flinched again and Geoff tilted his head back in annoyance, the movement making him look taller than he was.

“…I didn’t want to finish the job. After a while.”

“That’s it?” Geoff snorted, his eyes squinting in disbelief.

“That’s all it takes, isn’t it?” Ryan threw back at him. “The one time you don’t go along with the orders you’re given is where it ends. The Con will figure out soon enough -with Ethan gone and me still stalling - that I’m not exactly planning to go back to them…”

“The Vagabond we’ve heard of, the one I saw killing Roger”, Geoff said thoughtfully, still glaring at Ryan. “It’s not you.”

“I won’t deny loving the things I get to do as him, but… the Vagabond is the simplified act I've gotten used to playing. No-one expects him capable of the things _I do_ - the patience, to be more exact”, Ryan sighed. “Playing with trust and routines is what I’m good at. But no. I suppose I'm not the Vagabond, or the version of him that people spread rumours of, at least… I suppose that means I am worse than that.”

“What about the other end of the ‘ _act’_? You were faking the whole time, with us?”

Ryan frowned, turning to look at the mask he had thrown to the floor before facing Ethan as himself. Who he was, and what had happened to him before and after meeting the Con and the Fakes, was nothing so simple.

“No. That was all me: why would I take the time to pretend when being myself works well enough to take you off guard? The Vagabond makes it easier, being all terrifying and faceless without any expressions to control thanks to the mask. People rarely pay attention to how I am because of it… But with you, I failed. You’re not like the others I’ve hunted down for the Con. You weren’t disgusted by me, you didn’t keep me at a distance –“

“You helped us, you saved Gavin’s life”, Geoff interrupted, sharply turning around to rush over to kick at the still flaming barrel. “ _Fuck_!”

Ryan’s eyes widened as Geoff burst into a flurry of anger. He repeatedly kicked at the flames as the barrel fell down to its side, the burned out crisp of the body crumbling to the ground.

“ _You! Are! Not! Our! Enemy_!”

Geoff kept stomping on the body as he cursed, destroying Ethan into nothing but dust and not minding in the least as the fire clung onto his shoes and pants. All Ryan could do was stare.

“You fucker are too easy to like, goddammit!”

“I-I have no idea what you’re –“

Geoff stopped, pulling away from the barrel and turning to face Ryan, his voice gravelly as he pointed at him accusingly: “ _You fucked up_.”

“Yes, yes I did”, Ryan replied immediately, obedient and finally absolutely certain that the way he had failed had nothing to do with becoming "too fond" of Geoff’s crew. Failing the Con and the loyalties they had build for him wasn’t the problem. The Con might be powerful in their anonymity and silent control, but what Ryan was facing now was something else.

“There’s two more things I need to understand, and you better fucking be honest with me this time around…” Geoff said after a moment of silence. He looked tired although he hid it well, only swaying on his feet ever so slightly.

Ryan could do nothing but nod in agreement, preparing for the honest answers he had to give for the first time in his life.

“First. What happened with Roger?”

“Right…”

Ryan tilted his head and smiled without meaning it, looking at the ground as he began to speak:

“There… There is a protocol to what I do, similar to your own with your alliances in its basics but with the intention of betrayal by the end. The first act begin with showing off my skills while allowing each of the crews to think they’re still in control by being the ones to ‘invite' me in.

“I knew you had issues with Roger and I used that to get to you. And to give me a reason to kill him, and make you question my presence and possibly push me into finishing the job, the Con arranged a weapons deal with the Rangers, well aware they would flub it. That one slip up, only because they allowed it… Although, it took you a really long time to realize, you simply trusted me too strongly from the start and I don't exactly understand why…? If it had been just a little sooner, you wouldn't have been so willing to listen to me and I would have most likely killed your crew instead of, well, being here now…”

Geoff grit his teeth. “I arranged the meeting with you… Thought I had won, made a good deal.”

“An enemy of my enemy is my friend, right?” Ryan let out an empty chuckle. “All Roger did was piss you off enough so that there was no fear of you getting too mad at me for the methods I used with him…”

“And those methods were as graphic as they were to intimidate us, to lower our defenses when we got to see the contrast to your… other side. The real you?” Geoff said slowly and shook his head in disbelief. “I fucked it all up…”

“You’re not the first, and so did I. Big time”, Ryan replied, hearing the apology in his voice and hoping Geoff did as well. “But you’re also the last to be facing this design, as far as I’m concerned… I want to test my limits, and the Con won't be wanting me back afterwards.”

"The second thing: what you said about the Pargas, and the Con's 'list'", Geoff continued, dismissing Ryan's words and their meaning without as much as a scoff. "Why did they attack us?"

"…Because of me", Ryan began, biting his lips as he tried to find the right words to explain himself. This really was a lot to put out there, and a lot for Geoff to take in - even if the Con's plan had failed for now.

"I did what I could to keep both your crew and myself alive during the attack, but it's also my fault the Pargas found us. The Con kept tabs on me, and they… I needed you to trust me, to create a bigger conflict when it all was to go down. To hurt your judgement, and to make my betrayal just that much more notable. To do that, I needed a scenario where I could prove myself further and really name the Con as our common enemy. It was their first direct move against you, wasn't it? Until then, you had no real reason to keep me around to investigate them with you…"

"That's it? One more, uncoordinated assault to build your cover?" Geoff hissed and Ryan nodded as steadily as he could, not allowing himself to appear overly impacted by the rising hostility. Three members of Geoff's crew - his family - had almost died in the attack, with or without Ryan's direct involvement. That was a good reason to hate the mercenary.

"More or less. Partially, I suppose, it's just the Con's way to have some fun, and not just with you. It's… a challenge. Even to me. But the Pargas-attack went too far, almost killed all of us on the spot, and I knew then that the Con wasn't happy about the delay I was pulling. Although, until then, even I hadn't realized that I… I really wasn't doing my job anymore."

Geoff’s glare grew stronger and he exhaled, looking Ryan in the eyes before he said:

“The Con needs to be destroyed.”

Ryan felt his breath catch, his hands turning into fists at his side. Just like that, Geoff was satisfied with his explanations.

Ryan knew he deserved so much worse from them, they really were too trusting for their own good and it was annoying more than anything else, but obviously the increasingly more aggressive Con took the priority for the both of them. A reset was in order, even if Ryan knew there wasn’t much more they could do. His mind was running wild in an attempt to find solutions, and the best course of action.

Direct moves against the Con weren't an option.

“Yes.”

 

* * *

 

_“You should call your crew while I pick up my things, I need to explain what little I actually do know about them to all of you… Whatever you choose to do next, it's not going to be easy. Trust me.”_

 


	9. Did you see the con?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ryan knows it's more than likely he's going to die all over again, but this time he’d be taking as much of the Con as he can down with him - indirectly or not.

_“We want you to be trusted by them, to join their family games.”_

_"Look Ramsey in the eyes for us when you are done taking away what actually matters to him of his empire.”_

_“He will try to kill you, of course."_

_“You must let him do what he will, we want him to come after us with everything he has left.”_

_“We all know how that will end.”_

_“We have a target for you to get started with.”_

_“Roger Bailey - the leader of a small, unorganized crew known as the Rangers.”_

_“You know what to do."_

_"We have already taken care of the rest.”_

 

* * *

 

Ryan would find them, he would put in his everything to kill them all. Even when knowing it would never be that easy.

But that was the goal which made him head towards the only address within Los Santos with a way for him to directly contact the Con, interested to see what would happen when he did let them know of his devotion for their destruction.

And that was exactly what made this a challenge worthy of his time, now that Geoff had allowed him to live through the meeting caused by his confused, muddled brain. For better or for worse, Ryan couldn't even be mad for the way he had allowed that one to happen, not now when it had helped him to find his resolve.

Yes, of course.

Ryan knew the Con was aware of the fact that he had quit - actually, he really hoped they were - and they must have been expecting him to stop by for a while now. That was a part of what had made this an easy call to make, but at the same time… It was annoying to know just how heavily his mind was being influenced by everyone but himself, and certainly not for the sake of up-keeping his own career and wellbeing.

There was undeniable proof of the way he was being manipulated, if not by anyone else then at least by himself.

Especially when considering the way Ryan was treating the Fakes' role in all of this.

Now that he had told Geoff the truth and knew the man to be going after the Con with all he’s got - and not out of desperation born out of loss like the Con had wanted him to - there should have been no point to holding the Fakes back from joining his newly-found interest to hunt down the organization. But one reason still existed, lodged deep in Ryan's head after he heard Geoff's own resolve and realized just what it could mean.

He hated the implications that could be driven from there, but it didn't exactly change the decision he had already made.

And that decision was why Ryan was driving alone, having left Geoff behind at the warehouse with Ethan Hill's corpse, long before the man had had any time to react to the mercenary sneaking away without a word. Ryan had broken his trust all over again for reasons the leader of the Fakes was having a hard time keeping up with by now.

Not that Ryan was sure he was that much better off as it had been a split second decision on his part as well. And seeing how recklessly he was acting now, the point of his "plan" couldn't be to go for absolute victory either.

It almost appeared as if all he relied on was his ability to take the first step for someone else to follow, to finish it all with or without him still in the picture. Yet, as he drove towards his next destination, Ryan continuously denied any truth he might have known to be in that statement: he would be doing his best to pull this off on his own, and the Fakes were nothing more than his backup to ensure the Con wouldn't be let go easy even in the case that Ryan, the only one to know much of anything about them, were to die today.

In a few more hours, the Fakes would be in the clear to do whatever they wanted next, with or without Ryan's input or his, alleged, need to be taking the bullet for them. Until then, this was all between him and the Con.

If anything, Ryan had finally been given the perfect chance to test out his skills and he couldn't help but to grin as he thought of what he might be facing next. Just a few days ago, he had never even considered the possibility of going against the Con.

He probably should have, as what else could ever be a greater challenge for someone like him.

 

* * *

 

“What do you mean he _disappeared!!?_ ” Jack practically screamed at him, pacing around the room the Fakes had been called in for a late-evening emergency meeting by Geoff.

“Fuck, Jack! I turned around and he was gone!” Geoff replied with just as much exasperation, pulling at his hair.

The lads watched them with shared blank expressions, all tiredness having long since been wiped away and replaced by equal amounts of shock and anger.

“To repeat: you’re telling us Ryan called you to meet him in an abandoned warehouse where he had tortured, and burned alive, an assassin sent after Gavin’s life by _the Con_ ”, Michael said surprisingly calmly, although his words grew steadily louder with each beat. “And you went there, alone, without telling anyone –!”

“Yes!” Geoff interrupted the rant in annoyance and with matching levels of anger, glaring at Michael. “I went there, and I don’t feel like explaining myself any further on that so _you better fucking drop it!_ All that matters is that Ryan was hired by the Con to –”

“– _con us_ ”, Gavin finished for him, chewing at his lip with his eyes darting to any other direction but to where the rest of the crew were standing. “He was hired to kill us, the slow way around… I was wrong, I shouldn’t have said that time proves he’s really on our side –”

“But he didn’t kill any of you, and the Con wasn’t a fan of that. So, they hired this other guy, Ethan Hill, to finish the job for them instead. But Ryan got mad at them and killed the assassin first, _to save you_ , or his reputation, whatever _._ ” Geoff gestured at Gavin whose eyes widened in shock.

“And now Ryan’s, apparently, going after the Con, on his own, because he’s an asshole mercenary who has no idea what he’s doing when not under anyone’s orders, as we know!” Geoff continued yelling, still pulling at his hair. “And now we need to find him, and finish the Con off ourselves!”

“Is it really our place to do anything? And do you really trust his word, even now?” Jack asked, not exactly the calmest out of anyone there and with a dark glare lodged deep in her eyes. She slumped down on a seat and sharply shook her head. “He did fuck us over. Big time.”

The chair the back of which Michael was holding on to made a cracking sound as his grip on it tightened even further.

“He did, but not in the one way I actually care about... You are still alive, but Ryan might not be for too much longer”, Geoff said after a pause and with his volume dropping in threat, turning to look at the others one by one. “I fucking hate his guts, don’t get me wrong. But it is our place to do something about the Con, and Ryan’s our only lead to get to them. If he dies, we have literally nothing. Again. And fuck if I want that to happen.”

“We need to find him”, Jeremy nodded, belatedly frowning at his own words. “ _Them._ The Con, I mean.”

“Yes, we need to make a stance and face them…” Gavin added slowly, glancing at Geoff. “But…”

 

* * *

 

Ryan hadn't planned to call it a suicide mission, but that was the only title coming to his mind as he stopped the car and stepped outside. With a thoughtful hum he paused writing his message and pocketed his phone, instead picking up the mask from the seat next to him and pulling it over his head for one last time out of habit more than anything. There really was no point to hiding his face here, in the middle of the night and right by the Con’s doorstep.

The Con knew who he was more than well, after all. They weren’t scared of an act they had had a hand in creating.

Exiting the car, Ryan walked down the alleyway with his hands in his pockets and his shadow looming over the dark of the pavement. With the skull mask on, he knew exactly what he looked like to whoever might catch a glimpse of him, his shoulders relaxed and his stride confident, the nonchalant attitude left obvious for anyone to pick up on.

It truly was an act more than any of the others he had pulled in his life, making him appear bulletproof, undead and undefeated all at once, to protect him especially against those who knew of his reputation. Seeing him, his attacker would normally reconsider, take in the image he had painted for them and by doing so give him that one second of doubt where he could read their movements and take them down first.

It was all based on something well practiced, calculated even, and if this was the last of the roads he’d be walking down, he’d do it with calm. No matter if the Con, the only people who he cared about now, could see right through him.

Walking to the end of the alley and facing an apparent dead-end with only an old metal door hidden behind the trashcans, Ryan let out a steadying sigh and reached for the door with a key he had pulled from his front pocket. The door wasn't sturdy in appearances but it's not like it was protecting much, the space on the other side empty apart from a small screen on the wall.

The screen itself was nothing special either, an ancient piece of tech not connected to anything but a computer with one-way access. At the press of a button, the connection would either be made or not, the Con making that call for themselves.

Ryan knew they were watching him already, a camera hidden in some corner of the dingy room but still leaving nothing there that could be used to track down the other end of the feed even if he was to do something about it. Not that he had ever tried, he simply had enough confidence in the Con’s ability to do _everything right._ That manner of meticulous work was their trump card, the very reason they had made it this far without any real trouble - simply playing games with people who didn't realize they even had made an enemy of them.

And maybe that should have been something of concern on its own: Had Ryan simply been brainwashed to think this way, or was it really a fact that the Con was as unbeatable as he expected them to be. It’s not like he had ever tried to go against them before, and now he was being as reckless as he was simply because he thought facing them straight on was the only way to truly see through their defenses –

But if he held on to that trail of thought, Ryan turning on them must have been an expected conclusion to their partnership from the very start.

With that in mind, he couldn't help but to curiously wonder if the members of the Con, there simply had to be more than one person behind this all, had ever placed bets on how long it took for him to end up here. And, if so, had two years been considered a long time or not.

Ryan couldn't help but to chuckle as he finally went to reach for the screen, the true question there being whether or not he had even once managed to surprise the Con at all. It was probably better not to dwell on that now.

Ryan counted to five after pressing the button on the screen before it flickered to life. A single, short word appeared black against the light-grey of the screen:

_“Hill?”_

They knew then and, as expected, the Con didn't waste time to pretend like they hadn't had a hand in Ethan's involvement. Again, it made everything easier.

“Dead”, was Ryan’s similarly simple reply, his words delivered to the anonymous figure through a mic also hidden somewhere in the room. This was one of the only ways they had ever spoken to each other, the Con preferring methods similar to these to keep to their formless role in peace - they had the money to keep themselves safely out of harms way, if anything. And because of that, it wasn't like Ryan had lied to Geoff when he had said he didn’t know just how many people there were on the other end, sending out their apparently pointless presents and deals to the many crews of Los Santos.

And as this arrangement had given Ryan everything he had wanted, none of it had actually bothered him back then. Now was different.

“If you want him back, I can tell you where to find the ashes.”

A pause, the five second rule counting even here as that was usually how long it took for Ryan's words to be delivered and the Con's replies to be written and send off again. The Con never took long to think over their answers, their wording deliberate and blank.

_“Ramsey?”_

With a silent tune hummed under his breath, Ryan said: “Jig’s up, he knows.”

Five seconds.

_“And you?"_

“What do you think?”

Ryan imagined the person on the other end would most likely be laughing at him by now, shaking their head almost fondly as they gestured whoever else to join their side and look at the view they had of his “menacing figure" standing in the dark of the room, the screen’s glow barely lighting up the features of the plastic skull covering his face.

Seven seconds this time around, the brief delay only strengthening the visual Ryan had built for himself about what was happening on the other side.

_“Do you want to meet us?”_

Ryan lifted a brow and couldn’t help snorting. “Oh wow, two years of this and _now_ you ask! What owes me the honor?”

Five seconds - they knew what they wanted.

_“You have earned our respect.”_

Ten seconds, Ryan familiar with giving them time to get through their sentences one by one.

_“We would love to end our contract in a manner that truly shows how we feel of the sacrifices you have made for our sake.”_

Seven seconds.

_“We want it to be worthy of the time we have all put into our arrangement.”_

Seven.

_“It is a shame to let you go but we would prefer to at least say goodbye, face to face.”_

Ryan knew they were playing again, challenging him out of curiosity over his response and selected course of action. But they would never risk something like this by being honest about the meeting, no matter how big of an upper hand they had - especially if they thought he had a plan, which he didn't. And that was exactly the card Ryan had chosen to play to see if it gave him any advantage over the Con's overly careful nature.

What he held on to was the idea that there were no direct moves to be taken against them, and only by going along with their words he might get close to something concrete. And maybe then, by chance if nothing else, he could acquire that one piece of information that is needed to do them in for good. 

Still, more than that, there was something beyond selfish to what he was doing here. Of course there was.

Ryan wasn't that devoted to revenge against the Con - because, really now, over what exactly? - or helping out the Fakes. He didn't didn't feel like he needed to repay them for someone he hadn't done: The Fakes were alive, Ryan not killing them should be enough of a gift. After all, he hadn't given that same consideration to a dozen of other crews and there was no regret there, never would be.

No, this had nothing to do with them. If anything, Ryan really was just curious.

After two years of no mind of his own, simply enjoying the thrill of it all, what he now wanted to see for himself was just how far the Con was planning to take this based on their so called “respect” towards him. And if they were to drop their guard while doing so, Ryan would be there to hit them in an instant.

With that, it was easy for him to nod and give them his carefree reply:

“Sure thing, it would be my pleasure to meet you guys. It's been a long time coming.”

Only five more seconds after that, he was given another address to head towards. Almost immediately after, the screen switched off and the room was swallowed entirely by darkness.

Ryan couldn’t help but to laugh, aware they were still listening.

“Do you want me to bring anything?”

Of course there was no answer, but Ryan was sure to nod for one last time as he turned to walk out of the room, back into the night for a drive to the outskirts of the city.

“No worries, I’ll be sure to pick something up on the way over…”

 

* * *

 

“What the fuck, what _the fuck_ _–!_ “

“Calm down, Geoff”, Jack snapped as she shoved him out of the room. “You’re not making this any easier for them.”

Geoff stomped his feet before leaving the tech room where the emergency forces of the Fake AH’s unit, collected from close by, had met up to hunt down any signs of Ryan’s retreat after the “meetup” at the warehouse.

Jack let out a sigh and walked up to Gavin’s desk where he was monitoring what seemed like a hundred reels of security footage swept from the distant part of town, both of them knowing there wasn’t much to be found there. Still, every part of the crew was doing what little they could to locate Ryan now that he had disappeared to do something he most likely never intended to return from, taking their only clue regarding the Con down with him.

“Anything?” Jack still felt the need to ask as she stood by his desk. Gavin didn’t glance her way but did offer an apologetic smile at the screen, which she spotted well enough.

“No… And as we know, he must have planned it that way. He’s good, just like the rest of the Con - seriously, they all are. I checked everything Geoff said about that assassin sent after me, and look”, Gavin said and opened a tab that had pictures from the previous days’ footage, taken a tad too close to the penthouse. The pictures showed several views of people walking down the streets, one person highlighted in each frame and barely looking like the same man even when all zoomed in and you knowing what you were searching for.

They would have to be even more careful in the future if they didn’t want just about anyone to follow them home. Although Hill truly had been an exception in skill, even if Ryan might have considered him lacking of the proper work ethics.

“You shouldn’t have spent time on that”, Jack pointed out as she took in the picture but Gavin simply scoffed.

“I can multitask, considering how little there is to actually do about Ryan but watch the bloody footage”, Gavin replied and didn’t even glance Jack’s way as he continued to study with intent the many reels passing by his eyes. “And it’s a little… bothersome to find out I had a killer tracking me for days.”

“We all did, just a little closer to home than with _this one_ ”, Jack mumbled as she leaned in to take a better look at Ethan Hill, “but I do understand what you mean…”

Gavin frowned and shook his head ever so slightly to clear his mind before asking his question:

“What are we planning to do about Ryan?”

“Assuming we get to him before someone else cuts off his head? I really can’t answer that”, Jack replied, her eyes downcast as she pulled away and Gavin immediately flipped off the tab with Ethan’s profile, the file no longer needed and the man's face never to be seen again.

“Geoff was right, you know. Now _this_ would be too elaborate of a plot to trap us with, so I’d really like to think he’s not our ‘enemy’ anymore”, Gavin said slowly. “He didn’t kill any of us, and… Well, I guess it’s safe to say he saved my life?”

“Seems like it…” Jack smiled coldly, Gavin seeing the look through her reflection. Of course he knew they had every right to be mad at the mercenary, and he was no difference in that regard.

“What would you want us to do about it?" Jack asked after a moment, a hand patting Gavin's shoulder as she took a step back to leave the room. "I can talk to Geoff - just in case Ryan actually makes it long enough for us to meet him again.”

“Honestly?” Gavin chuckled, briefly glancing at Jack with a tired smirk on his face. “Before he kicks the bucket, I just really want to punch him.”

Jack laughed at that, shaking her head fondly but with that dark hue very much stuck to her eyes and shared by Gavin.

“I think we all feel the same way: his dumb, scar-free face deserves that much and more for making us run around in circles, never knowing what’s happening for a fact.”

 

* * *

 

The drive to the edge of nowhere took him long enough, but by the end of the trip Ryan had no recollection of the time actually spent in the car. The entire way over he had simply been gripping at the wheel and glaring at the road ahead.

For a moment longer, Ryan simply sat there and held on to the wheel with his death grip. Knowing there was no time to waste, he managed to take out his phone, checking the time and the level of charge before flipping the recording on.

“We’ll see how this plays out… No backing out now.”

It was nothing more than a mantra he was beyond familiar with by now, but it's not like there was any lie to it - it really was way too late to rethink any of the choices he had made in his life and go for another, literal, call of desperation. And with a huff at the mere memory of what had taken place at the warehouse, Ryan pocketed the phone.

He finally exited the car, his many weapons concealed and a heavy shotgun on his back if only, again, for the image it made. He glanced around the area, having left his car a distance away from the meeting location which the Con had chosen to be a cliffside by the lakes.

What an annoying cliché.

Walking out there, hidden by the treeline, was a pointless gesture with the Con already expecting him, but it did give Ryan a little while longer to enjoy the dark of the night. With the idea that he would most likely not be walking out of this one, every second counted to solidify his resolve on what he wanted to achieve by doing this.

But Ryan wasn't granted too many seconds at all, his long strides cut short before he really even had the chance to get going. He halted in his steps, his ears catching the sound growing stronger with each passing moment: the steady knocking against the aluminium of his car was unmistakable.

The echoes made his eyes widen for a second, Ryan’s shoulders going up until he forced himself to relax again. Holding on to the act of calm was his everything, he should be prepared for the unexpected by now.

He had known what he was walking in on.

But there was no denying that he seemed to have been one-upped immediately at his arrival, which was a tad too soon for his liking.

As slowly as he could while still appearing in control, Ryan turned to look back at the car. He was immediately met up with the sight of a woman standing by the passenger’s side, not moving a muscle beyond her knuckle hitting the door in a steady rhythm.

She had a strong build and even from this distance, and with no real lighting to illuminate her, Ryan could tell she was wearing a bullet proof vest under her jacket. There was something wrong with that, his mind informed him as he took a breath and prepared to respond to the change of mood he was facing.

“Who are you?” Ryan said, again forcing his voice down to a pleasant manner of speech. Not appearing phased, the woman continued her knocks at the door for two more hits before her index finger stopped still. She didn't raise her gaze from where she was appearing to look down at the ground.

“You want the actual, honest answer?”

For a second her level voice seemed to cut through the silent forest more effectively than even the knocking had, the bored visual working so much better to intimidate than the carefree act Ryan was attempting to pull against her.

Ryan grit his teeth, the woman leisurely going to lean against the car and still not even turning to face his way. She was wearing sunglasses which looked questionable in the dark, somehow managing to be a powerful sight with her otherwise hooded figure and the black leather she had on, the look highlighted with bright yellow clothing peaking from underneath.

“Yes.”

“Too bad, I would have loved to joke around”, the woman hummed under her breath and Ryan had to strain to hear her words through the wind picking up around them. But once done with that one sentence she was quick to fall silent again, making no sign of continuing to give him any kind of answers.

“You’re the Con, then.”

Ryan didn't know what else to say: They had said face to face, and she was the one here to greet him. The least he could do was go with it for now, although it really would have been too pointless if they actually had walked up to him like this - they wouldn't have made it so  _easy_ for him.

But her speech pattern seemed familiar enough, easily comparable to the very emotionless ways the Con wrote each short sentence to construct their messages to him. 

“You are Ryan Haywood.”

That gave Ryan pause, not sure if he should be feeling gleeful or not at the turn he was facing. He was still wearing the mask and the only people alive who knew who he was behind it should be the Con and now the Fakes. If the Con truly had sent someone for him, even if she was just one of their unknowing messengers, he could actually have something to gain from this.

That's what he had wanted to think, but… He hadn't had a plan coming here.

And now it appeared that even that had been well prepared for, the woman having waited for him right where he had parked his car without him having even thought twice on the action as he had done it.

“Yes, sure, let’s go with that", Ryan replied after a brief pause, crossing his arms. "I must say, this isn't exactly the welcome I was expecting."

The woman let out a sigh, tilting her head but still not directing her face in his direction - she was deliberately avoiding him, it seemed. And there was no hiding the way she appeared to be growing annoyed now, her mouth set in a thin line.

“You are already dead. Why would you do this to yourself?”

Out of anything Ryan had been prepared to hear, her statement, in all of its simplicity, wasn't on the list. 

The words hit him, more than they should have perhaps, throwing him back to the realization that there was something wrong here. Which was saying something, considering his entire "plan" had been built around the idea of facing the odds off an almost certain death.

This time, Ryan couldn't stop his shoulders from going tense, his teeth grit and the question forced through his lips:

“What did you say?”

The woman tilted her head to the other side now and chuckled as she studied Ryan’s rigid stance and the sudden animosity in his voice. Not regarding him with an answer, she simply lifted a hand to her ear.

 

* * *

 

_“I have him.”_

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The end is here - the final chapter was cut in two parts because of its length.  
> \--  
> A lot was cut out thanks to the time it took to get even this far, but I hope everything's been addressed and that you reading got something out of this story! <3 And hopefully the summary didn't lead you completely astray, there really are multiple reasons for it to be what it is (did you see the con).


	10. Goodbye and hello again, nerd

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's no guilt among killers.

“We have everything prepared… All the weapons are packed and people spread around the edges of Los Santos and beyond, just in case they’d be close enough if we were to find out where Ryan was heading…” Jack said, sitting on the couch and shaking her head tiredly as Geoff paced around her in circles.

“No way will we find anything, the Con wouldn't have made a scene big enough for us to notice. Unless they specifically wanted us to…” Geoff complained, both of their phones peeping nonstop with empty sentiments from searches leading to no results.

Gavin entered the living room they were in, a laptop in his arms and similarly looking through the files again and again even when knowing it had already been proven useless. But no one was settling down just yet: for the night, every single one of them would keep on working.

But even that was a sentiment lacking of meaning, considering they had all pretty much given up by now - it had been a few hours since Ryan disappeared, and there were no signs of him left behind. That is why, this time, Jack didn’t even bother asking the pointless questions of "how is it going", simply making way for Gavin as he slumped down next to her without sparing a look to the two gents stuck to their phones.

“Do you need anything?” Jack asked instead, seeing Gavin shrug in a silent reply. They were all beyond tired of this bullshit, the least they could do was have each other’s backs. Unlike some people.

“This is getting ridi– _FUCK!_ ” Geoff yelled out, interrupting himself with the curse and throwing his head back. “The fucking emails, messages, _calls_ – if you have nothing to add, STOP! WASTING! MY! TIME!”

While Jack didn't offer him any kind of reaction - she was already more than used to this for the night - Gavin did manage a quiet laugh. He wiped at his eyes to keep them open, before speaking up: “That’s how it goes, people are real confused on why we even are hunting down the –“

“Wait…” Geoff said, interrupting Gavin with his voice dropping in a way that caught the two other Fakes’ attention immediately. They looked up in sync as Geoff stared at his phone with a blank expression.

“I’ll… I’ll send this to you”, Geoff then said, turning his eyes to Gavin who simply nodded. In no time, he opened the files forwarded to him and Geoff sat to the other side of him, both him and Jack leaning in to look at his laptop.

“That’s a lot of… Uh. Wait… Was he really planning to…?” Gavin mumbled as he began to go through the first few paragraphs, immediately coming to the realization of what these files were intended for.

They all did.

“A complete fucking idiot!” Geoff spat out, a glare on his face and his arms going up in exasperation. “Fucking got himself killed, where the fuck did he -?!“

“…Ah, so he really, he went to meet them…" Gavin swallowed, forcing his focus back on the details they were given. "Right. He was sent somewhere by the Con.” He hovered over a link and then his eyes widened as he recognized the website. Without thinking, he jumped to his feet, almost hitting the other two in the process and forcefully sitting back down again to actually show them. He opened the link which led them to a map. “He went here, look!”

They all studied the map pointing them in the middle of nowhere over an hour's drive away.

“Fuck, that’s… No one’s out that far, it will take a while before we get to check it out”, Geoff said with a sigh and was about to reach for his phone to get the closest of them speeding that way when his hand stalled to point back at the map instead. “Wait… What is that?”

The other two leaned closer yet to look at the small red dot on the screen, barely inching towards the meeting location marked a distance away from it. Jack frowned, squinting at the dot.

"That is…”

“O-oh, damn it, of course! It’s his phone!” Gavin exclaimed, turning back to see what was actually written in regards of the link. “It's not just the address he went at, he’d want us to be able to find his last known location when it all goes down as well! Like, if they tried to take him somewhere and he was able to keep the phone with him!“

“But it still hasn’t even reached the location of the meetup!” Jack pointed out with her voice rising and her eyes wide as she turned to Geoff. “He’s still heading out there, the dot is moving!“

"…Shit."

“Meaning!” Gavin gestured at the map wildly as he yelled out next, now getting to his feet with his hands in his hair, “if we go _right now_ and take a plane or something, we just might even make it in time!”

“Then that’s what we do”, Geoff said, still very much in shock at suddenly being given exactly what they had been looking for, the phone already up to his ear for the necessary preparations. “ _Let’s go!_ ”

And with that the Fakes set out to catch up with him, before Ryan had even made it to the meeting.

 

* * *

 

“You are…“

“I’m sorry, I’m here as a distraction”, the woman said and finally stepped up to him while Ryan was too flabbergasted to know how to react, simply glaring at her and with a hand held over the pistol on his belt. “We were in a hurry to spread out and I’m the one who happened to be exactly where you parked your car.”

“Who are you?” Ryan managed to get out as she stepped up right in front of him, reaching out a hand for him to shake. Now that she was closer, he could almost hear the familiarity in her voice, and not in the way he had initially thought –

“Lindsay. We haven't had the chance to meet with the Pargas-thing messing everything up”, she replied with an apologetic smile, Ryan's eyes growing wide and his hand slipping from his side. “Normally I have… other things to worry about, but this was an emergency, so, I was close by and I had no other choice but to come. And it seems like you could really use the help.”

Lindsay stood in front of him, her smile turning into a teasing smirk as Ryan began to open and close his mouth uselessly, the look not hidden even by the mask in the way.

Bullet proof vest, the carefree attitude -

Ryan didn’t take her offered hand, instead losing his focus and spinning around to stare at the path ahead instead. Lindsay didn't appear to mind.

“You actually thought they’d just let you do this on your own?” Lindsay asked before Ryan could say a word. He felt every muscle in his body tense up even further and let out a silent curse, his mind screaming at him to get going already, to ignore her and the Fakes. This wasn't about them, he had to get to the Con first.

“What are you, _they_ , doing here?!” Ryan forced out, his teeth grit and anger overtaking him.

“Checking the perimeter”, Lindsay said, as calm as ever, and actually took a step forward to reassuringly pat him on the back. Ryan flinched at the contact but didn't move out of the way, his mind running behind on the actions as she chuckled at him. “It appears to be something you weren’t planning on so we had to take the spotlight, for now.”

“You’re fucking everything up –!“ Ryan went to say but Lindsay was quick to stop him with a statement of her own, her voice right back to piercing: “Says the guy on his way to get himself killed for our sake.”

And that was enough to make Ryan halt, his eyes growing wide behind the mask as he spun around to finally stare at her in disbelief.

“What? I’m not, this isn’t about _you_ –“

“It's not?” Lindsay smoothly asked. “Honestly? There aren’t too many other reasons for someone who has nothing left to go this far, and you'll have a hard time denying it after what you already did to that Hill guy." She let out a laugh. "The least you could have done is a little prepping before walking out here, you know. You didn't even see me before I made you turn back!”

“…Where’s the fun in that”, Ryan replied at a loss and then took a step back, towards the road leading to the cliff. Lindsay lifted a brow, Ryan seeing the motion as her eyebrow rose high enough to peek over the brim of her sunglasses.

“If you're expecting me to stop you, don't bother - I’d rather see what’s happening for myself, too”, Lindsay then said and began to move onward, passing Ryan’s shocked form to walk up the path instead. “I hear they haven’t found anything yet.”

Lindsay tapped at her ear and Ryan swallowed, following after her like a confused puppy but still shaking with anger he didn't know what to do with now. Going in without a plan really had backfired, but he had no one to blame for it but himself - _as if_.

It was the Fakes who continued to mess everything up. All Ryan had wanted to see for himself was how far the Con would go, this had nothing to do with -

“What do you think the Con’s motive with bringing you all the way out here was?” Lindsay asked as they hurried on, breaking through his silence and the complaints filling his mind. Ryan shrugged uselessly, glancing at her with a glare and forcing himself to adapt to the turn of events, knowing the Con would be doing the exact same thing right about now.

Him and the Fakes, they were all heading out there and there was nothing he could to do about that now.

“If they had asked me to fly to Sweden, I would have gone…" Ryan mumbled after a moment, knowing all of their chances would only be lowered by him not going along. "Being asked to go in the middle of nowhere, at night and right by a deep body of water? Not that many possibilities there…” He studied Lindsay’s stoic expression as she nodded and took in his words.

“True that.”

 

* * *

 

As they hurried onward without another word, focusing on their footing for now, Ryan was completely taken back by the thought that the Fakes had found him.

Fuck.

They were talented enough at what they normally did, he could give them credit for that, but this was something else. In no time, they had been able to track him in the middle of nowhere, and that had to take some fine combination of skill and luck as he knew how to use his roads to keep himself untraceable. But there was no time to ask any questions yet, Lindsay having told him to keep quiet while they ran and she listened to the others speak on the crew's channel.

It didn't take them long to make it through the forest and to the clearing beyond.

The spot they were in was a lookout point with a broken railing that surrounded the edge of the cliff, the view expanding across the lake surrounding this small point of land.

“Where are the others?”

“Close. They still haven’t found whoever, or whatever, the Con has set to take you out with…” Lindsay said as they watched the view, barely seeing anything as the night was still dark with clouds having gathered above the lake. "They thought about making this a stakeout but there really isn't a point if there's no one around for miles."

Looking at the view, Ryan frowned: the setting was just too much and he hated it. It was cheap for a location meant to be where he "ended the contract" between him and the Con. No respect there.

If they truly had backed out, maybe having seen the Fakes and decided to backtrack on whatever they had had in mind for him, it really might be a good thing - even if just for the sake of a better background for the next time they tried this out.

“There’s nobody here?”

“Yeah…” Lindsay frowned and lifted a hand to her ear again, covering for the wind to properly hear what was being said. “It does seem clear, but we'll be keeping watch… And Geoff wants to see you as soon as possible, he's on his way over as we speak.” Lindsay glanced at him carefully, taking in his reaction.

“Okay…" was Ryan's simple reply and he thought back on his last meeting with the man, still only a few hours earlier. It really was a pain. "You going to explain how you found me now?” he asked as he followed after Lindsay’s careful steps to the clearing, both of them looking around and armed as they waited for the others to walk out in the open as well.

“You’re…” Lindsay said carefully, glancing his way and slowing in her steps. “You really don’t know?”

“…Should I?” Ryan asked, frowning behind the mask as he held on to his shotgun, having pulled it off his back when they were getting closer to the meeting spot. Better safe than sorry, even if only in short distance, with Lindsay also holding a pistol and intently studying their surroundings for any sign of life.

Lindsay shook her head, almost fondly. She stepped closer to the the cliff and turned to him. “You really, _really_ don’t know?”

“…No”, Ryan said in embarrassment and lowered the shotgun, his brain doing a complete backtrack on his entire evening in an attempt to figure out just what he might have messed up now. The plan had come together in an instant and he knew he was beyond tired, having not slept for… almost two days now, ever since realizing Hill’s role in all of this and going after him.

And since leaving Geoff behind, all he had been doing was driving and writing the damn –

The shotgun fell out of his hands, the gunshot ringing in the air as Lindsay pointed the pistol at Ryan. She tilted her head almost curiously as she studied his muted reaction.

Ryan cradled his bleeding hand in shock and stared, simply stared at her as he went to rebuild his stance, having immediately bit back the cries of pain out of reflex more than anything else. “You -”

“The honest answer: the Con would not have lied to you and here we are.” Ryan’s eyes grew wider. “Face to face at last.”

Whatever willpower Ryan had had to keep pretending like he wasn't affected by suddenly getting shot was quickly overtaken as he took in this person's stance all over again, for the third time in the span of what really was no time at all. “You are…”

The pistol was being pointed at his chest, Ryan backing away from it without even realizing that's what he was doing.

This wasn’t Lindsay, the voice was all wrong again and Ryan just had to remember then and there that he had originally explained the delay in taking down the Fakes by saying he hadn’t met her yet. He had told the Con he had to find her before going for the kill, wanting to erase the biggest players of the crew from behind the scenes as well.

The Con had known he didn’t know who she was, how he had never seen her – but he had given them some of his recordings after the Pargas-attack, they had known what Lindsay sounded like and –

“I am not all there is of us but better than nothing, don't you agree?” The weapon didn't lower an inch as the shred of the Con waved at him with their free hand, the movement smoother than Ryan had expected. Emotion other than the boredom from earlier, or even the friendliness of "Lindsay", was suddenly dripping from their voice even if their wording had gone back to bland. “It is a shame you did not want to shake our hand, it was a rather important moment to all of us.”

Without thinking, Ryan took another step back. He glared at the Con who was very efficiently still not threatened by him and his entirely dropped acts, not even giving him a chance to reach for a weapon of his own as his hand continued to bleed against his chest.

The bullet had hit him straight in the middle of his palm, his right hand left a twitching mess and the shotgun useless on the ground by the Con's feet.

“ _You_ …”

“Get close, make it personal, betray”, the shred of the Con said in a whisper, tilting their head as they followed after his steps and passed by the shotgun without paying it any mind. “We gave you all of that. And with this display, it is a relief to see we are not losing much by letting you go.”

“…That’s that for ‘the respect’, huh?” Ryan forced out, whatever he had had in mind in the span of the evening coming to one, solid conclusion: he never had been a threat to them, the Con having read him from the very moment they had first hired him to test out his skills.

“You really thought the Fakes would have come for you, willing to buy our presence so easily”, the Con said, thoughtfully. “We wanted to have more faith in you than this, but it seems we were right when we decided to try this act on you. There is no ‘respect’ to be found in what you have shown us today.”

Ryan couldn’t help but to nod, actually agreeing with them as he glanced behind himself. The horizon was dark as the Con forced him to walk back in a circle, now directing him towards the edge instead. Somewhere far below him there was a lake and when thinking on that Ryan couldn’t help but to chuckle next, remembering the irony in what that meant for him.

Not that long ago, he had talked about this exact scenario with the Fakes, the discussion having stuck to his mind thanks to the Pargas-attack having immediately after reminded him of the job he was meant to be doing instead. By going for his "plan" against the Con, Ryan had ensured the exact faith for himself that the Fakes had told him to be pointless.

This was just _perfect_.

The _perfect_ way for the Vagabond to go down: all between him and the Con.

“So… You shoot me and throw me off the edge… Isn’t that a little too cliché, or just plain boring, considering our history? You like it complicated, don’t you?”

“Isn’t this exactly what you despise”, the Con said in the form of a statement, smiling kindly. “The lazy clichés of your chosen career path.”

And before another word could make it past Ryan’s lips, the Con fired the pistol and made him stagger backwards. The successful shot at his chest send blood spewing over the leather of his jacket, Ryan letting out another hiss of pain as it did.

The small pistol they were using wasn’t a very powerful one, even his hand still mostly intact Ryan noted but not in glee. It was all intended to be that way.

Ryan glared at the Con, steadying his footing to finally take a defying step forward but they weren't bothered in the least. Instead, they continued to point the gun at him, slightly turning it from side to side, and walked closer to meet him halfway.

“We decided to use something that is just enough to knock you down and ensure you will not be getting back out even if you happen to make it through the fall alive”, the Con explained the choice of a weapon just as they shot him again, Ryan being hit back stumbling as the gunshot echoed in the silence.  

“ _Fuck_ ”, Ryan spat out, pressing his bleeding hand over the wound on his left shoulder. He glanced down at the blood leaking through his fingers and took a deep breath. He had been expecting this, it wasn’t that big of a deal – exactly why he hadn’t been wearing a vest like the Con was. Even if, on them, it had most likely been intended to only paint a certain expectation to make him see them as someone other than a shred of the mastermind who was not bothered in the least by the possibility of getting shot.

It was just another act with a more innocent form of disguise than his, flipping the roles around to catch him off guard. They knew what they were doing, and Ryan really should have recognized his own signature moves immediately at them being used on him, even if it had happened so fast.

Ryan's glare bore into the Con. “You have anything else to tell me or should I just jump off the fucking cliff on my own? This is really beginning to piss me off…”

The Con stopped in their steps and the smile didn't falter, their eyes still hidden behind the glasses. “Would you do that?”

“Do you want me to?”

They didn’t reply and Ryan grit his teeth. This was getting him nowhere, but if there was a chance the Con would say something actually useful –

“I know you are recording our conversation, I will not reveal anything”, the Con said with a hum and Ryan couldn’t do anything but chuckle in relief at hearing that. It was a good thing, really: seeing how everything was going down, he doubted the phone would even make it through the fall intact, and it's not like he was exactly given the time to reach into his pocket and do anything else about the recording either.

"Well." It was once again time for Ryan to shake his head and smile in exasperation at the little he had done here, Ethan Hill having died only four or so hours earlier and his mind having been left a mess of no coherent thought since. Alright then. “In that case…”

“Too bad”, the Con said, repeating their earlier words with calm as they shot him again, Ryan already out of balance and unprepared enough to be thrown back at the sudden attack. Before Ryan could gather his footing at all, cursing in pain, the Con hurried onward in an uncharacteristic speed for what he had seen of them so far.

They looked at him over the frames of their glasses, eyes dark, just as they pushed him backwards with solid shove and an even wider grin spearing over their features, splitting their face in half.

“It is not your call to make.”

The last thing Ryan thought about before stumbling backwards into nothing was that at least the email was in no way connected to the condition of his phone. Instead, he had gained nothing to add to it by doing this, going down without a fight like the talentless fool he appeared to be.

How disappointing was that.

 

* * *

 

Ryan had made a mistake.

Or multiple of them rather, but there was only one which had worked to the luck of the Fakes.

Making all of his arrangements in only a few hours, Ryan had quickly written down and timed an email meant for Geoff. This email contained every file, address, placement of keys, and detailed descriptions of the jobs the Vagabond had ever pulled under the Con’s direct orders, briefly explaining his role in everything that had happened.

Although in reality it wasn’t all that much, the Con having always been the exact same shadow in Ryan’s eyes as they were with all the other people who had ever interacted with them, the files were meant to give the Fakes the exact same facts Ryan could have given himself. After all, he had had no blind faith in actually making it out alive if the Con bested him for good.

No matter what happened to him next, Ryan had thought, he would prepare Geoff and his crew as well as he could, to make sure they faced the Con with full understanding of how complicated that path would be for them. Even with how little good Ryan had believed any of that to actually be for them, this part of his "plan" had been the most solid, and the backup the email had then provided him with turned out to be more than necessary - just not in the way he had intended.

Ryan’s mistake had been an idiotic one, the phone he had picked for the mission being one that had its settings on manual control. As he didn’t have any reason to look at the time in the middle of the night and in his hurry to hunt down the Con, he hadn't exactly had a chance to realize that the clock showed the wrong time.

The email and the time he had set for it to be sent off, in case the dead-man’s command wasn’t used to delay it further, were very much connected. And, considering the hurry the Fakes had been in to track Ryan down, this simple mistake had been more than welcomed by them.

Point being, Geoff had received the email almost an hour earlier than Ryan had meant for him to, while the mercenary had still been on road to the cliffside. Although Ryan had intended to go out there alone, that's not quite what ended up happening.

The entire reason for Ryan's "plan" had been the hypothetical advantage given to him by the unpredictability of it all, which means that his mistake indirectly proved him right: it led to the one thing the Con hadn't expected to see, managing to shift the balance between them and the Fakes into something the anonymous organization found to be quite interesting and worth investing in even further.

But it wasn't a simple case of luck that the Con became so curious of.

 

* * *

 

“ _Fucking idiot!_ ” someone spat out as soon as he had been dragged to the surface, the words said with so much anger that it was impossible to miss even in his confused state. Gasping for breath and with his skin crawling from the freezing water, Ryan was unable to catch on to anything else before blacking right out again.

Immediately after, the mask was ripped off of his face to never be worn again.

 

* * *

 

When he woke up, the first thing he registered was how the blinding white of the room was immediately forcing him to close his eyes again. His arms were held close to his body and locked tight under the heavy warmth of the blankets surrounding him, his body resting deep in a bed that he could only describe as not fitting of a common hospital.

And that was a terrifying thought.

From there on, the second real thing he noticed was someone saying his name surprisingly softly from his left, the way it was being said also sounding wrong for a hundred of different reasons, most of which were based on the fact no one ever did exactly that, not to him, not with any of the names he had ever gone by.

“Ryan? Seriously, are you really waking up or just going to drop out immediately after? Sorry, I’d just like to know for sure before I call everyone back in…Again…”

“W-wha– ?”

“Alright, that’s good enough for me!”

With that, Ryan heard the person by his bedside stand up and rush out. He stumbled on something in the room as he went, cursing under his breath.

“ _J-Jeremy?_ ” Ryan belatedly asked in confusion, and maybe in a little bit of that leftover fear as well, when he realized that whatever was happening here very much meant it was unlikely for him to be dead and forgotten in the depths of some random lake.

But his question wasn’t heard and soon the room was filled with a whole lot of other voices that forced Ryan to blink. He took a brief look at the group surrounding him to see that they were, in fact, _real_ , the action closely followed by him shutting his eyes again because whoa did keeping them open hurt.

Seeing him do that and show he was aware of their presence seemed to be enough for the group, all five of them more than happy to take over whatever seats and corners there were in the small room and begin to chat with one another. And Ryan was even more confused by that, no one speaking of him or directing any of their questions his way. Instead, he heard conversation such as “Did you see the game?” and “Andy went to fix it again”.

There was no denying how he actually found comfort in that, Ryan thought in sudden shock and distrust. And, in his tired state, he was unable to stop the betraying smile that tugged at his lips right then and there, not hidden away by any layer of plastic. But there was no time to dwell on that, he did need to know why the Fakes were here with him. Maybe this was some offhanded way of torture before they, too, flipped the script on him.

Ryan certainly expected to have that much and more to be coming his way next, knowing just how the Fakes must take to betrayals the level of which he had almost brought upon them. No way would Geoff let it go as easily now as he had back in the warehouse.

“W-what… the Con, _you_ …” Ryan managed to force out, his throat throbbing in pain but not enough to make him feel like he shouldn’t try talking to clear this out. At his question, the room fell silent and he opened his eyes for a second to study Geoff who stood to his right, the closest by his side.

“It went as well as you might have expected with your _brilliant plan_ ”, Geoff said after a moment and squinted at Ryan with the full remains of his annoyance visible and dangerous. “We’re fine, you’re still alive somehow, and the Con… Honestly, they left a pretty fucking clear message of _‘We’ll be back’_.”

Ryan frowned, shivering and with his eyes closed again to take what little comfort there was in the warmth of the bed as his brain worked out how he should take that statement. “T-they’re…”

“Still out there, just… taking a break. Gavin, if you could”, Geoff said and Gavin, sitting at the end of the bed and by Ryan's feet, hummed.

“You’ve been out, on and off, for two days or so. Asleep, nothing more serious than that, seems like you needed it?" Gavin said thoughtfully before huffing and turning to Ryan who peeked at him just to see his blank expression.

“Anyway, in that time a lot has happened… The Con backed out, visibly annoying the other crews with their money-flow suddenly coming to a stop. Sure, they have no real reason to do so unless they’re being that much more careful with our full attention now on them, but it could just as easily be a trap… They should know you lived, they must have seen us landing… But, personally, I do think they’ve also noticed us as more than one of their ‘more fun’ victims and want to make whatever plans they had for us… well, even more in depth. You tell us what you think when you’re actually awake enough to do that.”

“Could take days, months or years”, Michael grunted before Ryan could catch up, adding his own thoughts on to the conversation, “and it’ll be pretty damn personal by the time they get back here. Their plans for you got to be a hell of a lot more special too, no way they're not annoyed by you walking free.”

“I don’t… H-how did you get there, to the cliff…?”

Geoff sighed. “You’re the one who send us the email, don’t act surprised when we used the method you presented us with. But we only had one way to get there in time with what equipment we had close at hand, so we didn't get to the cliff but in front of it rather: we had to take a hydroplane, landing on the lake right when you fell down by our noses. And then we swam up to get to you…”

Ryan frowned, so many things off with the explanation and his mind screaming at him further to not take any of this at a face value. “W-what, I didn’t, the… email?”

“Who cares?” Geoff asked pointedly and shook his head. “You fucked up by going there in the first place and we are the ones who saved your life, alright? Also, we didn’t catch whoever you met up with so you better explain yourself on that one. Just not right now.”

Ryan had nothing to say to that, peeking out at Geoff who was actually smiling at him now, making Ryan’s frown even deeper in turn.

“We have nothing to work with to catch the Con, neither do you”, Geoff explained slowly, ensuring Ryan was focused enough to follow his trail of thought. It ended up having the opposite effect because the longer Geoff took to think about it himself, the more his own ire perked up again and made the volume of his voice increase as he continued: “We all know that. Does it piss me off? Hell yes, I want to _rip them_ _apart and feed them to_ –!“

“What Geoff’s trying to say”, Jack interrupted with a huff, “is that we know as much as there is to know of the danger, which isn’t much at all - your email did most of your work, and that's really not what we need you for anymore. Meaning, if all we can do about the Con is to continue to track down the members while simultaneously keeping our defenses up, then that’s what we’ll be doing. It sucks.”

“Yeah, a lot. But it’s better than being dead, so you better learn to appreciate that”, Jeremy said sharply, giving him a look. Having been the one in guard duty earlier, he had kept his seat of honor right by Ryan's bedside. “We sure as hell aren’t going to hide away from them.”

Gavin also nodded in agreement, swaying on his spot as he spoke next, not looking in Ryan’s direction as he did: “It’s not like you have anywhere else to go?”

Again, there were so many things wrong in all of those statements and that final question especially, all of it making Ryan's mouth drop open with how unprepared he was for any of _this_.

This hadn't been what he had been going for with any of his actions, at all. But there was no denying how he had -

“W-wait”, Ryan mumbled in confusion, not quite keeping up with the faces swaying around him as he tried to keep his eyes open. Remaining conscious took an annoyingly high effort. “You’re saying, you want –?”

“Yes, I would like to hire you, and the right way around this time”, Geoff said in confirmation, giving Ryan a lopsided smile. “No more favors, just money and me not letting you do whatever you want on top of that, unless you ask nicely. And, just so you know, _it actually works if you do_  as the others can tell you. Honestly, I don’t even mind your methods and the rumors won't be a bother either if I know you're actually on our side, by choice, and don't do anything like this again without letting me know first.”

Ryan’s eyes widened, his brain working to figure out just what the hell he was hearing. Focusing the effort in that side of things was actually making him wake up a just little bit more and forgetting all about the painkillers muffling his head.

This was a lot at once to wake up to, right after a ton of betrayal, getting shot, and almost drowning for no good whatsoever of anyone here.

“Y-you want…“

“You can still be the Vagabond if you want, but the façade is all yours now: I'd sure love to see the Con's reaction to that one. And, yeah… While I don’t, personally, need you to make your kills as flashy as they’ve been so far… If that’s what you like, who am I to complain!” Geoff grinned as a form of letting him know that he truly had more than meant his earlier words regarding the subject, patting Ryan’s arm while the now apparent ex-mercenary-for-good – _if he so wished to be_ – stared at him, wide eyed and in complete disbelief.

The Fakes had come for him, dragged him back to the surface: Didn't that meant the Con had been wrong, seeing the act they had chosen to use against him. The Fakes actually being there, and not to kill him, had been the conclusion they hadn't been prepared for at all while Ryan, without thinking, had been willing to accept the possibility without a second thought - just doing so a little too soon, facing the wrong person.

“If you want to be a part of the crew, you’re welcome to join”, Jack added with a nod, just to make it obvious. There was a rare smile being directed Ryan’s way. “We all agreed on this, for once with an actual conversation involved, and… Well, we have a common enemy. Now for real. But you can think on it, wait until you’re back on your feet in the very least… We understand it’s not easy to trust us, as it isn't any easier for us to face you either. You haven’t exactly explained yourself yet or anything.”

“Y-yes, that’s why you… You h-have no reason to –“, Ryan began with his voice caught in his aching throat, but this time it was Michael who stopped his doubts with a scowl on his face.

“Who cares, we’ll just kill you if you try to cross us again. Seriously, don’t think for a second we are forgetting about your masterplan to take us out with your apparent acting skills. We know now and we’ll be on our toes." There was a smirk visible in the glint of Michael's eyes, a warning there Ryan recognized as the others having learned from their pretty major mistakes with how easily they had let him in before - yet still willing to give him another chance, to try it all over again.

"And", Gavin added in next, seeing the way Ryan was unable to make a sound and now smirking at him, "you're the one who let us live first, aren't you? We’re just doing the same, there doesn't need to be anything more to it than that."

"Should make us even”, Geoff agreed, glancing at the rest of his crew who all turned to Ryan with questioning looks.

The Fake AH Crew had a philosophy: As long as they lived, they were fine. They might never forget, but they always allowed themselves the right to laugh and accept the mistakes each of them made. No matter how huge they were.

And as the main five of the Fakes had finally fallen silent for long enough for Ryan to think it through, he couldn’t stop the confused smile once more making its way across his features. No matter how unbelievable it was, he had failed his mission and the Con hadn’t broken the Fakes – yet. And comparing the Fake AH to the Con, this really did seem like a much better deal for him.

With the Con, everything Ryan had had was an act he now knew himself having grown bored of a long time ago, exactly why it had been so easy for him to fall in rhythm with the Fakes as himself and forget the familiar repetition of what he had been supposed to do to them instead. The Fakes were different from any other crew out there, accepting him outside the roles he played as if what he had attempted to do wasn’t a fifth of how serious the consequences had almost been.

Thinking back along those lines and remembering a conversation he had had with Gavin what felt like a forever ago by now, Ryan came to realize that what the Fakes were telling him almost made it seem like they considered his entire betrayal as his “free-pass” of a first failed job. His work for the Con had been the one mission which he could learn from, it having almost - but not quite - cost the others their lives.

And with that, one might think there wasn’t any kind of freedom to be found here either, at least not for as long as Ryan felt like he owed them over his new lease in life, like he had with the Con. But that's the thing there - it's not like he actually felt any guilt for what he had done. The sides were even now, the Fakes and Ryan having allowed each other to keep on living with the promise that it was the Con they'd direct their resources towards.

Now for real, as Jack had said, and Ryan couldn't help but to chuckle and shake his head as he turned to face Geoff.

“O-okay, sure thing. I… I have a feeling you wouldn’t even let me say no. But o-one thing… The Vagabond is dead, alright? I’ll have to try something else… And the Con… They, they’re done for, and I won't… You're in charge, Geoff. I won't do, well, _this_. Again.”

It was as simple as that, and it soon turned out that the pain of actually, willingly, having to deal with the Fake AH Crew on a daily basis was punishment enough for how much trouble Ryan had once given them.

 

* * *

 

Ryan stared at his reflection on the mirror in deep focus, using the brush with a steady hand to draw the last line on the patter over his nose. He was amazed by the design, a mix of black and white and gray, loving how creepy it made him look.

Margaret Jason, along with her husband, would be up for the surprise of a lifetime when visited by Ryan later that night.

“Well? Does this work?” Ryan called out and took a step away from the bathroom mirror, walking to the small room where Gavin was waiting surprisingly patiently to see the results.

The Brit looked up from his phone and tilted his head, studying intently the paint now covering Ryan’s features.

“Work? It’s incredible! Way better than what I came up with…” Gavin grinned before his smile faltered, glancing down at the scattered doodles he and the other lads had made of the possible designs Ryan could use for his face paint. Jeremy’s sketches stood out as the most prominent and realistically horrific, and it was one of them Ryan had chosen to try out.

By covering his face like this, Ryan was allowing himself a new lease in life even without the literal skull mask. This new face was his – still dead, _but his_.

Although, the occasional mask was still more than welcome. He did love them.

“Sure is, your drawings were terrible”, Ryan agreed, smirking when Gavin scoffed at his comment. “Got to thank Jeremy, buy him something maybe…”

“Yeah, yeah… But first!” Gavin leaped from the chair and threw himself into Ryan’s personal space, clinging to his shoulder as he took a photo of the two of them. Just as smoothly, he stepped away to save the picture before Ryan could try to delete it. Not that he would have.

“And now, we’ve got two more hours to kill before the Jasons show up for their meeting with Geoff? And a few more afterwards, before you got to go take them out for good", Gavin pondered, meaning the plan they had for Ryan to surprise the two planning to betray them the moment they thought the deal had worked out just fine. It was a part of the arrangement made between Ryan and Geoff, allowing him to have some fun - something the Fakes had immediately taken on with glee, Ryan had been happy to note.

Gavin tilted his head, grinning at Ryan. "Plenty enough time to play a few more rounds, you think?”

“Oh, I will end you”, Ryan said as his grin grew even wider, the paint splitting to make the look even more off. “All of you. Going down.”

Gavin didn't react to the threat or the look of the other Fake, simply smirking at him before the two left the room in a hurry. The others were already enjoying their free time by the setup of consoles, these things a part of their routine and something Ryan quickly learned to enjoy more than he had most things in life.

And honestly, it was great to finally get to share his hobbies with a group who sucked at them just as badly as he did, Geoff accidentally taking down their allies and Jeremy shooting Jack in the back in a consistent manner.

Maybe it should have been more of a concern how similar these mistakes they, Ryan included of course, continued to make were to those made in real life as well, but they just couldn't be bothered with the technicalities. Instead, the only part of that Ryan actually cared about was the very important difference between their philosophy and simply being lazy about it:

For a group of infamous criminals, they sure were bad at what they did for a living – within virtual realities or not.

 

* * *

 

_“I got it! You should beg Ryan to tell you about the first job he was on with us, the one with the wires and the bombs in the empty warehouse! That’s an easy way to get Michael all riled up too, and embarrass all of the gents. It’s perfect!”_

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading, kudos and everything else! :) <3  
> \--  
> The five ways Gavin saved Ryan:  
> \- playing Peggle with him (and so the “downfall” began)  
> \- warning him and Michael so that they didn’t blow up  
> \- protecting him during the Pargas-shooting  
> \- holding Geoff back for a few days (causing Ethan to step in and Ryan to drop the act)  
> \- diving after Ryan and having a huge part in talking the Fakes into hiring him (not said)  
> \+ Ryan saved Gavin by killing Ethan Hill, count that if you will…


End file.
